BENGALURU/BANGKOK — New Delhi’s soft power diplomacy to counter China’s growing clout is facing headwinds, experts say, as Indian conglomerate Adani Group recently suffered a series of setbacks in its global ambitions.
Lower middle income countries like Kenya and Sri Lanka have snubbed the conglomerate’s investment proposals running up to $3 billion since November, after the U.S. indicted Gautam Adani, billionaire and chairman of the group, and other group executives on bribery charges. The company is also at loggerheads with the government of Bangladesh over a power supply deal.
