Adani Power deal, other Indian agreements to be reviewed by Bangladesh's interim govt: Report

Last week, Moneycontrol had reported that Adani Group said it will continue to supply power to Bangladesh despite dues exceeding $800 million, even as it presses the nation’s interim government to settle payments and avert a crisis.

Indian businesses in Bangladesh, including the Adani Group which has sought clearance of its power dues, face scrutiny from Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, The Indian Express has reported.

The development comes almost a week after Moneycontrol reported that Adani Group requested the government to expedite the clearance of $800 million that the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) owed for power supply.

Dhaka wants to check the terms of the contract and whether the prices being paid for the power supply is justified, the Indian Express report cited a senior government official as saying.

“There will be scrutiny of Indian businesses like the Adani business… what kinds of contracts have been signed, what are the terms and conditions, one cannot have a foreign company not follow the law of the land,” the report quoted the official, who didn’t wish to be named, as saying.

Moneycontrol couldn’t verify the report independently.

Apart from apart from Adani Power, several Indian firms, including PTC India, NVVL Ltd and Semcorp Energy India, supply power to Bangladesh.

The Adani Power stock closed the official was quoted as saying in

The average power tariff by Indian firms is 8.77 Bangladeshi Taka, while the Gautam Adani-led firm provides it 14.02 Bangladeshi Taka.

As reported by Moneycontrol, Adani Group said it would continue to supply power but pressed for its dues to be settled to avert a crisis.

Adani Power’s 1,600 MW Godda plant in Jharkhand has a 100 percent supply contract with BPDB, with an average monthly billing of $90 to $100 million.

The company signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with the BPDB in November 2017, during the tenure of the now ousted Sheikh Hasina-led government, to supply 1,496 megawatts (MW) from the plant, which is around 10 percent of the country’s peak power demand.

The ties between the two countries have taken a hit after Hasina fled to India after stepping down as the prime minister following nationwide student protests.

The interim government has demanded that she be extradited to stand trial.

The Adani Power stock ended at Rs 628. 4 on September 11, down 1.4 percent from the previous close.