Want to build a global news brand; NDTV takeover a ‘responsibility’: Adani
26/11/2022
new delhi, nov 25: Gautam Adani wants to build a global news brand. Months after Adani's new media unit AMG Media Networks Ltd (AMNL) announced the takeover of NDTV, in an interview with the Financial Times (FT), Adani said that India does not have a "single [outlet]" to compare with big international media houses.
"Why can't you support one media house to become independent and have a global footprint?" Adani asked in the interview.
According to Adani, the scale and size of his conglomerate would mean a "negligible" cost for creating an international media group. Adani is the world's third-richest person, with a net worth of $128 billion.
Earlier in 2022, AMNL also bought a stake in business news platform BQ Prime, formerly called BloombergQuint. He added that the NDTV purchase was a "responsibility" rather than a "business opportunity". Further, he invited NDTV owner-founder Prannoy Roy to remain as the head of the media house.
Often considered to be aligned with the current government, Adani said, "Independence means if the government has done something wrong, you say it's wrong...but at the same time, you should have courage when the government is doing the right thing every day. You have to also say that."
In the past, he has rejected the allegations of impropriety but has openly acknowledged his alignment towards the Narendra Modi government. Besides being India's largest coal player, the conglomerate has committed to investing $70 billion by 2030 in renewable technology, from solar panel manufacturing to green hydrogen production. It is also a big player in ports and the FMCG sectors. The group also operates several airports in the country, including Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. Adani stated that his group is also planning to launch a "super app" to connect Adani airport passengers with other services in the next three-six months.
In July, the group bought Israel's second-biggest commercial port in Haifa with the Godot Group for $1.2 billion. He told FT that the group is further eyeing to enter the power sector in Israel.
Adani added that he does not believe moving into petrochemicals would open up serious competition with Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries. "India is a huge growth market and everybody is welcome," he said.
On Africa, Adani expressed his aim to invest in the east coast in a "mining and metal business". His company is currently assessing ways to produce hydrogen in Morocco and Oman.
Moreover, Adani added that the current high energy prices had underscored the importance of the Carmichael coal mine project in Australia. Corporations had cut ties with the project as it did not align with their ESG commitments. It was also subjected to a backlash from the activists. In hindsight, Adani said, he would not have developed it.
"If we realised there's so much objection, that so much resistance will come, we could not enter. We would have not done that," he said.
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