Warren Buffett makes first trip to India

[Yeti]

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has made his first trip to India as he seeks investment opportunities in Asia.

"India is a logical place to look, so I hope I spend some money here," he said on the latest stop of an Asia trip that took him to Korea earlier in the week.

The 80-year-old was at India's hi-tech capital of Bangalore, visiting the office of an Israeli toolmaking firm in which he owns a majority stake.

His investment fund Berkshire Hathaway has $38bn (£23bn) in cash.

Criticising regulations

Mr Buffett also planned to meet wealthy Indian businessmen, to convince them to join him in giving half their wealth to charity.

"I don't consider India as an emerging market," he said. "I consider India as a very big market. We continue to look at large countries like India."

He also played down the chances of his entering India's well-established technology sector, saying he would focus on industries that he had expertise in, such as soft drinks and chewing gum.

The so-called Sage of Omaha agreed earlier this month to act as an agent for Indian insurance firm Bajaj Allianz.

He criticised Indian regulations that limit foreign investments in the insurance sector to a 26% minority stake.

Mr Buffett will later meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, although it is not clear what the agenda of the meeting will be.

BBC News - Warren Buffett makes first trip to India

 

[shuntmaster]

I'm a retard for coming to India so late: Warren Buffett

BANGALORE: The Oracle of Omaha has spoken, again. "I'll make one big investment a year in India," he prophesied. Wearing a jasmine garland and sporting a bright vermilion tikka on his forehead and a bright smile, the world's third richest man, legendary investor and philanthropist, Warren Buffet, 80, began his first visit to India by saying he felt a "little bit of a retard to have come to India so late."

But trusting the maxim, 'better late than never', he said his company Berkshire Hathaway (BH) would make one big investment a year in India, which he clubbed with markets like UK, Germany and Brazil as a potential opportunity for BH outside of the US.

At present BH has very limited presence in India. It has a stake in a Bangalore company, TaeguTec, through an Israeli company Buffett owns, Iscar, and an agency for online insurance distribution. In his speciality area, insurance, India limiting foreign ownership to 26% was a limitation. As for big ticket stock buys, Buffett said, "BH invests in billions. Emerging markets have smaller opportunities. They are small markets that do not fit BH. So, a big stock investment is not a good fit for us."

He will be meeting the Prime Minister in Delhi during this visit. When they meet, "we will talk about what the Prime Minister wants to talk about and not what I want to talk about." In the same vein, he said, "India has done well without my advice."

Asked about Bangalore being synonymous with offshoring and job loss in the US, he said, "I am a big believer in trade. It's important for world prosperity."

In Delhi, Buffett and Bill Gates will meet with India's wealthiest to talk about philanthropy. Asked about it, he said, "We are here to start a conversation. Talk about what we have done. The people in India here will do what they want to do. We are not here to organise anything as such."

About his own personal philosophy towards giving away money (he's pledged to give away 99% of his BH stock), he said, "I am giving up something that has no value to me but has value to others. By giving away my money I am not giving up anything. I continue to lead the life I want to, go on vacations that I want to." On getting on the charity route rather late in life, he said: "It is better to give away billions later than millions now."

On his trusted aide Ajit Jain, who runs the biggest money spinner for BH, the reinsurance business, he was effusive in his praise: "He's better than I am. (I'm) enormously thankful for India for having given him to us. He has made more money for BH than I," but did not comment specifically on whether Jain will take over from him.​