Asia’s richest reap windfall from surging oil, coal
Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani are profiting from a surge in global commodity prices triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, burnishing their fossil-fuel credentials even as Asia’s richest men publicly push their pivots toward greener energy.
With coal prices skyrocketing to a record, Adani’s conglomerate is expanding a controversial mine in Australia to meet demand. Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. is snapping up distressed crude-oil cargoes at discounts to feed its refining complex, the biggest in the world. Reliance even deferred a scheduled maintenance of the facility to help churn out more diesel and gasoline, whose margins have shot up to touch a three-year high.
The two Indian tycoons are stepping in at a time when many developed countries are scrambling for alternative sources of fuels as they try to back away from Russian supplies.
This month, the Group of Seven most-industrialized nations pledged to ban imports of Russian oil. The disruption has also brought the focus back on the need for more coal, the dirtiest fossil the world has vowed to phase out to cut emissions.
Though Adani, 59, and Ambani, 65, have unveiled a combined $142 billion in green investments over the next few decades in a pivot away from coal and oil -- the bedrock of their empires -- they are also finding it hard to kick the fossilfuel habit as the conflict stokes demand. Global coal demand is expected to rise to a record level in 2022 and stay there through 2024, according to the International Energy Agency.
The war has created a tailwind for fossil fuel-based firms in India, said Chakri Lokapriya, managing director and chief investment officer at TCG Advisory Services Pvt. in Mumbai.
“The collateral damage is that fossil fuels will continue to play a vital role the next 20 years or more,” he said, adding that it was sufficient time to reap benefits from carbon-based investments.
Representatives for Adani Group and Reliance Industries didn’t respond to an email requesting comments.
Bullishness in coal prices helped flagship firm Adani Enterprises Ltd. clock a 30% jump in profit for the three months ended March -- the highest in six quarters -- while surging prices of petroleum products aided Reliance, which posted one of its biggest quarterly profits ever.
Shares of Reliance and Adani Enterprises soared 19% and 42% respectively between February 24, when the invasion began, and end of April, before a global stock rout wiped out some of those gains.
Adani has added about $26 billion to his wealth since the war started, taking his net worth to almost $107 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Ambani’s fortune swelled by almost $8 billion to $92.4 billion.