[NEW DELHI] India’s Tata Group has lost about US$73 billion in market value this year, with a significant chunk of the erosion coming in recent weeks following challenges ranging from US visa curbs to a cyberattack.
The combined market value of the biggest Indian group’s 16 firms has slipped to about US$287 billion, the lowest in nearly two years, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The group lost about US$19 billion since Sept 19 after President Donald Trump tightened US work-visa rules, weighing on Tata Consultancy Services.
The coffee-to-cars conglomerate is undergoing one of its most turbulent years as it navigates a cyberattack at its luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover that has crippled production, one of the most devastating air crashes in India’s aviation history and fresh challenges to its software unit from Trump’s America First policies.
Tata Consultancy Services, the group’s crown jewel, has led the losses, sliding almost 9 per cent in seven sessions through Monday (Sep 29), stretching its losses past 29 per cent this year. The company’s peers Infosys and Wipro have also slumped after Trump raised H-1B visa fees.
The slump in Tata conglomerate’s market value is largely similar to the decline in the broader Indian market but accentuated by heavy selloff in technology firms, said Ram Medury, founder and chief executive of of Maxiom Asset Management. “Tata Group remains a barometer of the Indian market, with its diversified presence across sectors.”
Tata Motors’ shares closed lower on Monday, extending about 5 per cent slide last week as a cyberattack crippled Jaguar Land Rover plants. That’s before the luxury carmaker JLR secured UK backing for a US$2 billion loan to ease the strain on suppliers. JLR is separately raising a US$2.7 billion loan from global banks, Bloomberg News reported.
Tata’s UK-based carmaker saw some pain earlier this year due to Trump’s trade war. JLR reported that £758 million (S$1.31 billion) of free cash outflow was impacted in the quarter ended June, according to a regulatory filing. The cyberattack comes months after JLR logged a positive net-cash position and achieved its goal of becoming debt-free on a net basis.
In total, shares of 12 of Tata Group’s 16 listed firms have dropped this year. Tejas Networks has lost half its value, while Trent and Nelco have each shed nearly a third. India’s benchmark NSE Nifty 50 gauge closed 0.1 per cent lower on Monday, marking its seventh consecutive day of drop. BLOOMBERG
