Adani's strategic moves: How an Indian conglomerate is taking on China
Gautam Adani, the Chairman of apples-to-airports Adani Group, spoke about the opportunity he saw in the decline of China's project to spread a global footprint. “I anticipate that China, which was seen as the foremost champion of globalization, will feel increasingly isolated.
Increasing nationalism, supply chain risk mitigation, and technology restrictions will have an impact,” Adani said, referring to China's scuppering Belt and Road Initiative that envisaged connecting China with dozens of countries through roads, railways, shipping lanes, ports and other infrastructure and energy projects, and provide China strategic footholds all over the world.
Adani is competing with China as the country's global ambitions took a beating after the pandemic and due to geopolitical reasons.
Adani is developing a terminal at Colombo port where China already runs one. Adani's investment is seen as a counter to the stranglehold China gained over Sri Lanka with its debt traps over the years.
In a development that underscores the huge strategic significance of Adani's global business, the US is investing more than half a billion dollars in a port terminal in Sri Lanka’s capital being developed by Adani. The financing by the American government's International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is being seen as the US backing Indian interests in Sri Lanka to curtail China’s influence in South Asia.
This is the biggest investment so far in Asia by the DFC.
The American backing for Adani's business will also boost the image of the company which is still struggling from the attack by American short seller Hindenburg, which had accused it of corporate fraud early this year.
An astute businessman who did not go to college, Adani spotted
