Adani Group, owned by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, said its cash balance accounts for 24.8% of gross debt as of the end of the first quarter of the fiscal year 2024/205, up from 17.7% a year ago, Bloomberg reported.

The group’s cash reserves are enough to cover more than 30 months of debt payments, alleviating concerns about its liquidity position following fraud allegations made by US short-seller Hindenburg Research, the news agency said.

Adani Enterprises, the company’s flagship, plans to raise around INR 100 to 120 billion ($1.2-$1.4 billion) through a share sale after its energy transmission unit raised $1 billion.

The Hindenburg allegations, which Adani has repeatedly denied, wiped out more than $150 billion in market value.

As of the end of the quarter, the Indian conglomerate’s gross debt stood at INR 2.41 trillion, the news report said.

Earlier this month, Hindenburg alleged that SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch may not have conducted a proper investigation into Adani Group firms due to a potential conflict of interest. 

In a post on its X account, the short-seller said that the markets regulator chairperson’s response includes “several important admissions and raises numerous new critical questions”.

(Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com)