Billionaire Gautam Adani’s company, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), has decided to withdraw from a $553 million loan agreement with the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) for the development of a port terminal in Colombo, Sri Lanka, according to reports from Bloomberg, Reuters, and PTI. This move marks a significant shift in the financing strategy for the ambitious project, as APSEZ has chosen to self-finance the venture through its internal resources and capital management plan.
The company made the announcement through a filing on Monday night, stating that the Colombo port terminal project would now be financed through its own accruals and capital management strategies. The filing clearly stated, “The project will be financed through the company’s internal accruals and capital management plan. We have withdrawn our request for financing from the DFC.”
While the filing did not directly link the withdrawal to any external factors, it comes amid significant scrutiny of Adani’s business practices, particularly in the wake of a high-profile indictment in the United States. The US indictment accuses Adani and his associates of allegedly promising to pay $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials for solar energy projects and attempting to conceal the plan while raising funds from American investors. Both Adani and Adani Ports have firmly denied the bribery charges.
The indictment has sparked political controversy in India, where opposition parties have accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of favoring Adani, as both come from the same state of Gujarat. However, no connection between these ongoing legal challenges and the decision to withdraw from the DFC loan agreement has been confirmed.
This development also comes at a time when Sri Lanka’s newly-elected President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, is preparing for his first foreign visit to India from December 15 to 17, following his recent assumption of office. The Colombo port terminal project, which had initially received US backing, was seen as a strategic move by the United States to offer an alternative to Chinese infrastructure investments in developing countries.
Adani Ports had entered into the loan agreement last year, with the goal of developing a key port terminal in Colombo as part of a broader plan to expand its global footprint. With the withdrawal from the DFC financing deal, APSEZ is now poised to continue the project using its own funds, signaling a shift in how the company approaches large-scale international ventures.
