“Ten per cent economic growth gets India ahead… (South) Korea did it for three decades, Japan, China also did it. There are a lot of smart people here, so no reason why they won’t do it,” said Hyderabad-born Watsa, chief executive officer of the $97-billion Fairfax Financial Holdings, headquartered in Toronto.
Watsa spoke to ET on a recent visit to India during which he also met PM Narendra Modi.
$7b Investment Portfolio in India
The prime minister has pledged to turn India into a developed country by 2047, the 100th year of Independence. Watsa said India has to prioritise ease of doing business even more to achieve the goal of higher growth. “You need regulation but more to help businesses,” he said. “Who provides all the jobs? Businesses! There used to be socialism but all that is now gone and it should never come back but businesses you have to encourage.”
A long-standing admirer of the PM, his enthusiasm hasn’t waned. “Mr Modi is fantastic and will make it even more easier to do business,” he said.
The IIT-Madras alumnus started Fairfax in the 1980s after migrating to Canada. He has an investment portfolio of $7 billion in India and has committed to double that. Fairfax owns multiple insurance businesses in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and West Asia. It is among the largest investors in property and casualty insurance companies in the world.
In India, Fairfax owns controlling stakes in Bengaluru International Airport Ltd, Thomas Cook India Ltd, CSB Bank, Go Digit General Insurance and Quess Corp. among others. “We are backing people who have a track record, good people who are honest and can build a good company going forward… that’s what Fairfax did. I started in 1985. I wanted to build a good company… a little bit of luck and it’s worked out to be pretty good,” he said, when asked to describe how he picks investment opportunities. Watsa declined to comment on the worsening ties between Canada and India.
Fairfax not for sale:
He said Fairfax was not for sale and that it would still be around “hundred years from now,” pointing to the appreciation in its value. “Today our stock is at C$1,720. It was C$3¼ when we began in 1985, so we’ve compounded at 18.9% for 38 years,” he said, encapsulating the Fairfax track record that has earned him the moniker of ‘Canada’s Warren Buffet’.
“It’s always about building for the long term and I’m not going to sell it (Fairfax),” said Watsa. “It will always be professionally run. My kids will be on the board in terms of making sure our culture is maintained but my kids have their own businesses.”