'Adani Group among top energy transition stories to buy,' says GQG's Rajiv Jain

Rajiv Jain, the chairman of US boutique investment firm GQG Partners, which recently invested Rs 15,446 crore in four Adani Group firms, including Adani Enterprises Ltd, sees the conglomerate as "one of the best energy transition stories".

“This is one of the best energy transition stories you can buy, one of the best infrastructure assets you can get in India,” GQG Partners chairman Jain said on a call with reporters in Australia Wednesday. “Our view is we need to buy companies that are part of the solution.”

The star investor's confidence should bolster overall investor confidence in the ports-to-power conglomerate, which has been battling a US short seller's damning report against it.

“We feel these are unique assets,” Jain said, adding that over time GQG may raise its stake in Adani Group companies. “This is truly a long term investment and chances are we will probably buy more because we are not at full size at this point.”

Jain, based in Florida, has been meeting with investors, including pension funds, in Melbourne and will hold similar meetings later in Sydney.

Adani has major coal assets, which could affect the environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets of superannuation and other Australian investors.

Jain said he agrees on the long-term energy transition but fossil fuel cannot be shut off now.

"It's a more convenient issue rather than a substantive issue. A lot of people simply do box checking exercise. We feel that you need to make the transition, but the transition has to be based on some realistic aspects," he said.

New York-based short-seller Hindenburg Research accused the Adani group in a Jan. 24 report of stock manipulation and improper use of offshore tax havens that it said obscured the extent of Adani family stock ownership in group firms. The group has denied the charges.

The allegations resulted in seven of the Indian group's listed firms losing about $130 billion in market value, and the group also shelved a Rs 20,000-crore share sale.

With inputs from agencies