Bullish about India, Fairfax here for long term: Canada billionaire Watsa

Fairfax doesn't invest in new-age companies, looks at long-term track records, he says

Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa today said that he is excited about India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for bringing in dramatic changes in the country.

Speaking at the sidelines of 50th Anniversary of Chemplast Sanmar, a Sanmar Group Company into which Fairfax has invested around $300 million, he said for a long time, business was not a good thing in India, it was something that was not proud about, but things have changed.

"I am more excited about India because of the opportunities. Prime Minister Mr Modi, in front of our eyes, is causing dramatic transformative changes --  business-friendly policies, opportunity for all, single-minded focus on economic growth, not for his personal benefit, but for the country," he said.

He said that Modi is like former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who transformed a dusty old country into what it is today --- again, not for his benefit. He still rented houses. "I call Mr Modi, the Lee Kuan Yew of India", Watsa said. "Modi won with majority and it will help him in transforming the country."

Fairfax has invested over $1.5 billion after Modi came to power. The company's overall of $5 billion in investments in India has generated employment for 250,000 people.

Responding to a question, Watsa said that Fairfax does not invest in new-age companies, adding that his outfit looks at long-term track records".

India will be a growth engine and Fairfax is positive about the long-term opportunities in the country. India is a domestic economy and the global political crisis has little impact here, he said.

Guiding principles of Fairfax is that everything we do is long term, this creates tremendous trust in the company, reputation is more important than profit, second, our company is not for sale. We want to succeed, but not at the expense of our family. We are team oriented. Never compromise on integrity. We never walked away from our commitments in acquisitions.

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