Joshua Robertson reports in The Guardian (4.2.16) that Adani has frozen its investment in the Carmichael mine in north Queensland until the world coal price improves.
In addition the company appears to be shifting its focus towards solar power. ‘Adani Enterprises has already announced solar projects worht US$16b – more than the total A$16.5b flagged investment in the Carmichael mine and accompanying rail and port expansion. …
‘Tim Buckley, a former Citibank analyst now working with the pro-renewable energy Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, said the numbers revealed in the company’s December 2015 quarter results meant it had “a very remote prospect” of funding a new multibillion-dollar coalmine.
‘Buckley said no financial institution was going to finance Adani’s Australian coal venture in the face of a Indian electricity sector transformation, whereby record growth in domestic coal production and record high inventories would trigger a rapid fall in Indian coal imports this year.
‘Adani must show “financial closure” on its project before the Queensland government will allow dredging of Great Barrier Reef waters to expand its Abbot Point port.
‘Buckley noted that Adani Enterprises’ net debt of US$2.5b was double the market value of the company, itself down 44 per cent in the nine months to December 2015 to just US$1.2b. Net profit in the same period dropped 21 per cent to US$129m.
‘However, the company was “on track to commission the world’s largest solar project”, a US$650m, 648MW project in Tamil Nadu from next month, which Buckley said was part of a “massive strategic shift” into Indian solar projects.’