"We See Reality Differently To Hindenburg": Ace Investor On Adani Group

Rajiv Jain, the co-founder of GQG Partners, has invested huge sums in Adani Group firms

The Adani Group's stock rout after a US short seller's report in January has not deterred Rajiv Jain, the co-founder of GQG Partners, from investing large sums in the group as he feels certain qualities of the Indian conglomerate will lead to the group's meteoric performance in the long run.

The report by Hindenburg Research, which alleged fraud in Adani Group firms, has hurt Adani stocks but it missed to mention key details about the group, Mr Jain, 55, told the British newspaper Financial Times.

"Is this perfectly clean? No, it's not. Is it fraud? No, it's not. So the difference between the two is what we're talking about. In the meantime, you are getting irreplaceable assets, at very attractive valuations, which have some tremendous upside," Mr Jain told the newspaper.

"Physical assets, regular assets, monopolistic assets - those are hard to replicate," said the owner of the Florida-based firm.

He told Financial Times he was not concerned about the US short seller's report on Adani as companies in emerging markets tend to have certain traits that may make some investors uneasy.

Mr Jain invested $1.9 billion in Adani Group last month, despite the stock rout following the Hindenburg report. That move took him into the spotlight - someone who went against the tide amid a highly volatile global economic situation.

"The craziness part is mostly coming from the public relations risk," Mr Jain told Financial Times, explaining why he is not worried about his investments in Adani Group, which is spread across four of its listed companies. He is looking at a five-year time horizon to reap benefits.

Mr Jain has a highly skilled 20-member investment team who 'interrogated' people in the Adani ecosystem and they concluded the core operations of Adani Group were solid, according to Financial Times.

"Ultimately, this business is about monetising the difference between perception and reality and we see reality differently to Hindenburg," Mr Jain told the newspaper.

The Adani Group has called the allegations made by Hindenburg Research a "calculated attack" on India, its institutions and growth story. It said the report was driven by "an ulterior motive" to "create a false market" to allow the US firm to make financial gains.