An Indian billionaire has an audacious plan to take down part of China's economic masterplan
- Indian billionaire Karan Adani announced plans to challenge Chinese dominance in global seaports.
- Adani Ports has received "in-principle" approval for a $2 billion project in Da Nang, Vietnam.
Karan Adani, the son of one of Asia's richest men, wants to loosen China's grip on seaports and transform India into a major trading hub.
"We are working on making India the center point of the overall supply chain from east to west," said Karan in an interview with Bloomberg for their "Inside Adani" series.
Karan, who is the CEO of Adani Ports, said that the company had received an "in-principle" from the Vietnamese government for a potential $2 billion greenfield project in Da Nang.
This would be the latest addition to the Adani Ports' portfolio. In 2022, it won a joint bid on the Israel government's tender to buy the Haifa Port for $1.2 billion.
It also owns port assets in Colombo in Sri Lanka and the Port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
Loosening China's grip
India has long feared that China is surrounding its country with ports. The trade infrastructure in the Indian Ocean is often referred to as China's "string of pearls".
China's Belt and Road initiative (also referred to as the New Silk Road) involves buying up multiple ports across the world to build a sea route running from the coast of China through the major transit route of the Indian Ocean and the busiest maritime points of the Middle East, and ending in Europe.
According to the Washington Post, the majority of investments in Chinese-owned ports have been made by companies owned by the Chinese government, which would make the Chinese Communist Party the biggest operator of the ports that fuel global supply chains.
The Council on Foreign Relations states that China operates or has ownership stakes in at least one port in every continent except Antarctica. 92 out of the 101 ports were active as of 2023.
The Financial Times cited a report by the Qianzhan Industrial Research Institute stating that China invested at least $40bn in coastal port infrastructure between 2016 and 2021.
It also showed that China has 76 port terminals able to support large ships carrying more than 14,000 20ft containers, while south and south-east Asian countries have just 31 between them.
Fortune India reported that so far, 75% of India's transshipped cargo is handled by ports outside the country.
The Adani Group wants to change that.
Making India the world's factory
The company has openly aligned its business interests with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's development agenda of making India the world's factory.
Earlier this month, it welcomed the first mother ship in the first phase of its port in Vizhinjam harbor, a project undertaken with the state government of Kerala in India.
Expected to reach completion in 2028, the seaport aims to handle up to half of India's container transshipment needs.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Adani Enterprises, the group's main company, reported revenue of $11.6 billion in 2024, and Karan Adani's father, Gautam Adani, owns a 75% stake.
The 62-year-old is worth over $80 billion and announced his succession plan on Monday — naming his sons Karan and Jeet and nephews Pranav and Sagar as heirs to the Adani Group.
The Adani family have previously faced scrutiny for their close ties to Modi, and allegations of preferential treatment from the Modi government.
The Adanis frame the association as a desire to improve the country, with the Chairman's Message on the Adani Group website promising to "foray into sectors where the country needs to establish a foothold," and affirming that they will "look at these opportunities as part of our national duty."