'Adani's biggest competitors are actually Indian govt': GQG's Rajiv Jain explains investment rationale

Amid enhanced scrutiny over his Rs 15,446-crore investment in four Adani Group firms, GQG Partners chairman Rajiv Jain said the US boutique investment firm is invested in the Adani Group with a long-term investment view.

In an interview with The Australian Financial Review, Jain justified the investment amid a bevy of allegations made by US short seller Hindenburg Research against the ports-to-power conglomerate.

GQG’s investment in Adani was based on a five-plus year view, said Jain, adding "I think this will be a larger position for us somewhere down the line".

Jain, born and raised in India, described the airport, port and energy assets owned by the Adani Group companies as 'fantastic', 'irreplaceable' and available at a good price.

“About 25% of India’s air traffic passes through their airports and 25 to 40% of India’s cargo volume goes through their ports,” he said.

“The biggest competitors are actually the Indian government, not exactly the fastest running horse in the race.”

Last week, SB Adani Family Trust has cumulatively sold about 21 crore in four of the Adani Group companies through the open market. GQG Partners bought 2.84 crore shares of Adani Transmission on Thursday at Rs 668.4 apiece aggregating to Rs 1,898 crore, 3.87 crore shares of Adani Enterprises Ltd at Rs 1,410.86 apiece aggregating to Rs 5,460 crore, 8.86 crore shares of Adani Ports at Rs 596.2 apiece aggregating to Rs 5,282 crore, 5.56 crore shares of Adani Green Energy at Rs 504.60 apiece aggregating to Rs 2,806 crore.

“Adani Green Energy is by far the fastest and the largest private sector, green energy company in India. They’re rolling out almost three gigawatts annually. So, so I think some of their assets are fantastic.”

“Countries like India need to make the energy transition. These companies like these would be critical part of that," Jain told AFR.

In the Jan. 24 report, US-based Hindenburg Research noted high debt and alleged improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation, which Adani denied, but led to loss of $130 billion in combined market value of the listed Adani stocks.

US-based GQG listed on Australia's stock exchange in October 2021, raising A$1.18 billion, making it Australia's largest listing for the year. Jain retains a 68.8% stake.