Fairfax bullish on India

Chennai: Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa on Thursday said that he is excited about India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for bringing in dramatic changes in the country. “I am excited about India because of the opportunities. Prime Minister 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 was like former Singapore premier Lee Kuan Yew, who transformed a dusty old country into what it is today and not for his benefit. He rented houses. “I call Modi, the Lee Kuan Yew of India,” he said. Modi won with majority and it will help him in transforming the country. Fairfax has made a flurry of investments over the past couple of years including acquiring Thomas Cook and Sterling Holiday through Thomas Cook, picking up stakes in Bengaluru International Airport and Sanmar group where it has invested nearly $300 million.

Fairfax has invested over $1.5 billion after Modi took charge and has a total investment of nearly $5 billion investment in India.

“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. Our company is not for sale. And we will never compromise on integrity,” he said at the golden jubilee celebration of Chemplast Sanmar, the flagship of Sanmar group.


Ready to Master Stock Valuation? ET’s Workshop is just around the corner!