Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has made the most of the rally in the Adani group stocks in the December quarter and booked profits in three companies — Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, flagship and incubator Adani Enterprises and Adani Energy Solutions.
During the quarter, the state-owned life insurer’s stake in Adani Ports went to 7.86 per cent from 9.07 per cent, in Adani Enterprises to 3.93 per cent from 4.23 per cent and in Adani Energy to 3 per cent from 3.68 per cent. It sold about 2.6 crore share in Adani Ports, 30 lakh shares in Adani Enterprises and 80 lakh shares in Adani Energy.
At the height of the crisis in the group precipitated by the allegations of Hindenburg Research, the exposure of LIC to the Adani Group stocks came under the scanner as billions of dollars worth of investor wealth were wiped out in the ensuing sell-off.
On January 30, 2023, LIC had admitted that its exposure to the Adani group was worth ₹36,475 crore, under 1 per cent of its total investments. The insurer also raised its stake in some companies in the group in the March quarter of last year. It recorded notional losses of about ₹4,000 crore in its Adani portfolio in August last year.
In the December quarter, the shares of Adani Ports appreciated by about a fourth, that of Adani Enterprises by 18 per cent, while the Adani Energy stock has gone up 29 per cent.