BENGALURU (Reuters) -India’s Adani Group said on Wednesday it will invest 624 billion rupees ($7.51 billion) in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Telangana as a part of its seven trillion-rupee expenditure plan for the next decade.
The investment includes setting up data infrastructure in Maharashtra, with a capacity of 1 gigawatt, for 500 billion rupees.
The Adani Group’s flagship firm Adani Enterprises will also set up a 100 megawatt data centre in Telangana, while Adani Green Energy, Ambuja Cements, and Adani Defence Systems and Technologies also signed deals to set up projects in the state.
Ahead of a scathing report from U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research last January, the billionaire Gautam Adani-owned group had been eyeing infrastructure expansion and began raising funds.
The report, which opened up the Adani Group to heightened regulatory scrutiny, dealt a blow to its fundraising efforts that included calling off a $2.5 billion share sale, and wiped out $150 billion from its market value.
Since then, however, the conglomerate has won the backing of bankers and investors, and its seven main stocks have pared losses to about $47 billion.
India’s Supreme Court also provided further respite to Adani earlier this month, saying it does not need to undergo further investigations beyond the market regulator’s current probe.
This has enabled the company to move forward with plans to raise money to fund its projects, with Adani Ports announcing a $601 million fundraise.
Last week, Adani pledged to invest $24 billion over five years in renewable energy in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat.
($1 = 83.1420 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Varun Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Varun H K and Sonia Cheema)
