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Adani pushed to refinance Abbot Pt loan

Coal operations at Abbot Point. Photo: North Queensland Bulk Ports

Ratings agency S&P has advised Indian energy giant Adani to refinance roughly $326 million of its Abbot Point debt within six months of its November maturity, to avoid a potential hit to the company’s credit rating.

S&P analyst Meet Vora, quoted this week by Bloomberg, said Adani – which owns the Abbot Point coal export facility – should ensure refinancing is locked in for the port’s debt within such a timeframe.

“We expect the refinance to be completed on time,” Vora was quoted as saying. “If it’s within the six months of the maturity and nothing’s happening we start getting a bit concerned, which is where we need to start taking some actions.”

Vora’s statements seem to contradict Adani’s reported claims it has already refinanced Abbot Point’s debt.

According to local reports from the Courier-Mail late last year, Adani says it has already refinanced the debt – an assertion Bloomberg says an Adani spokeswoman reiterated this month.

Adani Australia boss Jeyakumar Janakaraj hasn’t made a public statement on the debt facility, nor has Adani chairman Gautam Adani.

Meanwhile, Adani remains mum on the future of its Carmichael coal mine and rail project; the project which drove its $1.8 billion acquisition of Abbot Point in 2011.

Adani and engineering firm Downer agreed to part ways on Carmichael’s mining contracts in December.

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