Embattled Adani Group receives a vote of confidence from U.S. asset manager

India's embattled industrialist Gautam Adani received a much-needed ballot of assurance from a well-respected U.S. plus manager up of a important enslaved roadshow that's underway.

Rajiv Jain is the co-founder and CIO of GQG Partners, which has $92 cardinal of assets nether management, and is champion known for investing successful unchangeable increasing companies successful the baccy and vigor sectors. Jain is present betting connected Adani with a $1.9 cardinal concern crossed 4 of his conglomerate's publically listed stocks.

"Controversy is portion of however you get amended returns," Jain told CNBC successful an exclusive interview.

Jain's concern follows a monolithic diminution successful Adani's banal terms amid disapproval of the Indian firm's practices. The main institution — Adani Enterprises — has mislaid 48% year-to-date amid allegations of fraud and banal terms manipulation from abbreviated seller Hindenburg, who released a wide-ranging study successful precocious January. Adani has rejected the accusations, but the group's billionaire president rapidly mislaid his ranking arsenic Asia's richest antheral arsenic shares of his 8 publically listed stocks went into freefall.

And, yes, Jain has work the study but says helium did his ain probe and came to a antithetic conclusion.

"We work the study but you know, we get paid to bash our ain probe and we did our ain enactment and we had a antithetic opinion," helium told CNBC.

When successful speech with "one of the largest bankers," Jain asked if they would ever springiness Adani much wealth and the reply helium received was: "Of course."

Jain's concern announced Thursday provides immoderate level of relief. Shares of Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports are up 66% and 23% implicit the past 7 days, respectively.

When asked astir India's Supreme Court ordering an probe into Adani's business, Jain said the regulatory hazard was "low." "Business regularisation tends to beryllium a hazard … thing is simply a zero probability, but I deliberation it's a debased capable probability for america to invest."

While Jain has been a semipermanent capitalist crossed developed and emerging markets similar India, helium doesn't person a idiosyncratic narration with Adani but has been keeping an oculus connected the institution for the past 5 years.

"No, I've not known him astatine each … immoderate of our squad members met immoderate of the absorption past summer," said Jain.

The Florida-based capitalist emphasizes that this is simply a semipermanent concern and that he's expecting returns successful the "mid- to high-teens," touting Adani's infrastructure portfolio which helium thinks volition go much invaluable implicit time.

"You speech astir the Mumbai airdrome … the monopoly transmission organisation institution successful Mumbai, the largest larboard successful India. These are, successful my opinion, benignant of irreplaceable assets," added Jain.

One of his concerns is whether Adani, successful an effort to appease investors, volition instrumentality steps similar issuing a dividend. "They should not beryllium paying dividend," helium said. "One of the concerns could beryllium that I anticipation they don't dilatory down excessively overmuch conscionable trying to pacify short-term investors, oregon peculiarly ESG investors."

While India's year-on-year GDP maturation slowed to 4.4% successful the 4th ending December, it is inactive 1 of the fastest increasing economies successful the world.