India has ‘unexplored’ opportunities: Warren Buffett

WASHINGTON: Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said that the Indian market has “unexplored” opportunities which his conglomerate holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, would like to explore “in the future”.

Buffett’s remarks came at Berkshire’s annual meeting on Friday when Rajeev Agarwal of DoorDarshi Advisors, a US-based hedge fund that invests in Indian equities, asked him about the possibility of Berkshire exploring in India, the world’s fifth-largest economy.

“It is a very good question. I am sure there are loads of opportunities in countries like India,” he said. “The question, however, is whether we have any advantage or insights into those businesses in India or any contacts that will make possible transactions that Berkshire would like to participate in. That is something a more energetic management at Berkshire could pursue,” the co-founder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway said. Buffett, 93, said Berkshire has a great reputation around the world. He said, his Japanese experience has been fascinating enough.

“There may be an unexplored or an unattended opportunity...but that may be something in the future,” he said about India.

Buffett said the question is if Berkshire has some kind of advantage in pursuing those unattended opportunities, particularly against people who are managing other people’s money and getting paid based on assets.

During a Question and Answer session, Buffett answered several questions related to some of the key investment decisions taken by Berkshire Hathway lately.

Decidedly reducing stake in Apple was one of the key topics. Buffett clarified that it had nothing to do with the long-term view on the stock and Apple will probably remain one of their largest holdings despite the recent slowdown.

He also told shareholders that Vice Chairmen Greg Abel and Ajit Jain have proven themselves the right people to lead Berkshire after he departs.