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'India a well-governed, well-regulated financial market': Nirmala Sitharaman amid Adani row

Says LIC, SBI issued statements on Adani saying they are not "overexposed"

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman speaks during a post-budget press conference | PTI Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman | PTI

Amid the controversy surrounding Adani Group firms, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman sought to assuage investor sentiments, saying India remains a well-governed, well-regulated financial market.

Adani Group stocks have taken a beating in the markets after US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research made several allegations in a report, including fraudulent transactions and share price manipulation at the Gautam Adani-led group.

In an interview to a television channel, the finance minister, when asked about the Adani row, said regulatory bodies in India are "very stringent about certain governance practices."

She pointed out that both LIC and the SBI issued statements on Adani saying they are not "overexposed."

"They have very clearly said that their exposure is well within the permitted limits and are sitting on profits,ā€ Sitharaman was quoted as saying.

LIC had said it has an exposure of Rs 36,474.78 crore to Adani group's debt and equity, and the amount is less than one per cent of the national insurer's total investments.

Finance secretary T.V. Somanathan too echoed similar sentiments on Friday when he said stock market turmoil created by rout in Adani group shares is a "storm in a tea cup" from a macroeconomic point of view.

Replying to a question on the impact of the fraud allegations on the Adani group on the financial system considering banks and insurance companies are exposed to the group, Somanathan said India's public financial institutions are robust.

"There is absolutely no concern from the point of view of financial stability, either for depositors, or for policyholders, or for anyone holding shares in these institutions. The share of any one company is not such as to create any impact at the macro level and so there is absolutely no concern from that point of view," news agency PTI quoted him as saying.

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