Major investors turn their backs on Adani Ports as Dow Jones officially removes the company from its Sustainability Index today
Today Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (Adani Ports) will be dealt a major blow as it is officially removed from S&P’s Dow Jones Sustainability Index. The removal comes in the wake of global giant State Street and seven major Scandinavian and Dutch financiers either divesting from or banning/restricting further investment in Adani Ports. (1)
Today Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (Adani Ports) will be dealt a major blow as it is officially removed from S&P’s Dow Jones Sustainability Index. The removal comes in the wake of global giant State Street and seven major Scandinavian and Dutch financiers either divesting from or banning/restricting further investment in Adani Ports. (1)
With Adani Ports’ share price falling 5% on the day the exclusion was announced, the flood of exits from investors should be a cause for concern for the company’s executives.
See the full referenced list of investor exclusions/statements below.
Following the revelation in March 2021 that PIMCO will no longer purchase Adani Ports bonds, and Deutsche Bank’s reported refusal to arrange these bonds on environmental grounds, investment heavyweight State Street has now excluded Adani Ports from two of its ESG funds.
The list of financiers either divesting or banning investment has grown to at least 11 major financiers over the last few months and demonstrates investor recognition that Adani Ports’ actions are far from “sustainable”.
Market Forces campaigner, Pablo Brait, says that the investors’ commitments to divest represent a major red flag to Adani Group’s remaining investors and bankers.
“Adani Ports and the entire Adani Group are exposing their investors and bankers to serious reputational risks through involvement with a Myanmar military owned company and the Carmichael thermal coal project. If their claims of corporate responsibility are more than greenwash, then companies like BlackRock, Barclays and JP Morgan must immediately cut ties with Adani, as many others already have.”
“The removal of Adani Ports from the Dow Jones Sustainability Index is a signal to the Adani Group that it will be held accountable for its destructive activities.”
“If Adani is genuine about being a good corporate citizen then as a first step it must walk away from the Carmichael coal project, cut ties with Myanmar’s murderous generals and clean up the mess it has made at some of its port sites.” Mr Brait concluded.
Media Contact: Pablo Brait, +61 (0)421 011 182
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Summary of investor backlash;
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PIMCO banned future investment in Adani Ports bonds and clarified that it did not participate in the January 2021 bond issue, due to links to the Carmichael coal project - March 2021
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Deutsche Bank backed out of participating in an Adani Ports bond issue in January 2021.
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State Street included Adani Ports in its ESG exclusion list. April 2021
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SEB states that it sold its holding in Adani Ports in March 2021 and have since then made no investments in the two companies [with links to Myanmar’s military] (footnote in Fair Finance article)
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Nordea: “Regarding Adani Ports, we will sell that entire holding and we have already sold just over 80 percent” (provided by Fair Finance here on April 1 and linked to in the above article.)
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Swedbank has excluded Adani Ports due to its connection to fossil fuels (reported on April 1 by Fair Finance in footnote 13, page 2).
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SPP’s January 2021 Excluded companies as of Q4 2020 “The following companies are excluded from all SPP Fonder's funds in agreement with SPP's sustainability criteria - Serious environmental and climate damage”. List includes Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone.
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Carnegie 2020 Half year report; “An example of a company that has been avoided for environmental reasons is Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone”.
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Danske Bank set restrictions prohibiting investment in Adani Ports and Adani’s Abbot Point coal port in September 2020 due to the company’s “climate change contribution and harmful environmental practices”.
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NN, March 2021 Exclusion list names Adani Ports for “violations of international standards of business conduct”.