By Steven Riley
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is visiting India these days, his first tour to the Asian nation. Buffet is hopeful of investing in India after his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. committed more than $35 billion to takeovers in the last two years. “We hope we spend some money here,” Buffett, Berkshire’s chairman and chief executive officer, said at a media conference in Bangalore today. “I don’t consider India as an emerging market. We tend to look at larger countries like India, China, U.K. Brazil, Germany. Those all fit us.”
The 80-year-old Buffett is actively seeking deals in the U.S. and abroad as Nebraska-based Berkshire is making good profits. Earlier this month, Buffet agreed to acquire engine-additive maker Lubrizol Corp. for about $9 billion. Last year, he bought railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe for $26.5 billion. The cash holdings of Berkshire rose to $38.2 billion as of Dec. 31, after which Buffett told investors that his “elephant gun has been reloaded.”
India is Asia’s second-fastest growing major economy and Buffet would definitely like to invest in the country to earn good profits. It is expected that the Indian economy would grow around 9.25 percent in the year starting April 1. Berkshire has inked a deal with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance to sell insurance to Indian consumers. Buffet’s companies has 26% stake in the deal as New Delhi caps foreign ownership in insurance companies to 26 percent. “India would be more attractive if we could buy more than 26 percent,” said Buffett. “That is a factor in the decision of not investing.”
