‘Lot less political risk in Adani story than perceived’: GQG’s Rajiv Jain

Veteran fund manager Rajiv Jain who helms GQG Partners LLC that spent about $2.5 billion in five Adani Group stocks since March, said that there is less risk in the Adani story than perceived. Jain’s comment was in response to the perceived connection between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gautam Adani, both of who hail from Gujarat.

According to Bloomberg, Jain said in an interview, “A lot of competition they have is with less dynamic public sector companies which reduces political risk in our opinion.”

After the Hindenburg Report, Adani’s close ties with politicians again came under the scanner. Some argue that the company’s explosive growth might slow down if the ruling party is voted out.

In this context, Jain said that Adani has made large investments in Opposition-held states, such as Rajasthan, too. He said that the conglomerate is unlikely to be impacted by a change in Indian political climate.

Gautam Adani too had said the same in an interview to India Today. He said his rise was the result of a combination of policy changes brought about by a host of leaders. He had credited former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s Exim policy, former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao and his then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh’s economic reforms, swearing in of Keshubhai Patel as the Gujarat chief minister and the eventual developments, and Gujarat-focussed development by then Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Additionally, Rajiv Jain also brushed off corporate governance concerns after Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP flagged concerns about Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone. It flagged insufficient disclosures with regards to certain unrelated parties.

The founder of the Fort Lauderdale-based company said that people are making hue and cry, flagging corporate governance issues without acknowledging overall results.

“We are certainly interested in investing further in Adani,” Jain said, further adding that it depends on a lot of things, including pricing. This consideration to raise its exposure comes after two Adani group companies, Adani Enterprises and Adani Transmission announced plans to raise up to $2.57 billion from the market. Adani Transmission’s board approved a plan to raise up to $1 billion, while Adani Enterprises’ board approved plans to raise up to $1.53 billion.

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