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    GQG’s Jain cuts AI exposure on data centre woes, backs utilities

    Synopsis

    Rajiv Jain, who runs the $23 billion GQG Emerging Markets Fund, is cutting back on AI-related investments. This is due to concerns that the demand for data centres is not as strong as it seems. Instead, he prefers utility companies, which he believes will grow as more money is spent on power and energy networks.

    GQG’s Jain cuts AI exposure on data centre woes, backs utilitiesAgencies

    Rajiv Jain, chairman, GQG Partners

    Rajiv Jain, manager of the $23 billion GQG Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund, is trimming exposure to investments linked to artificial intelligence on concerns of waning data-centre demand, while remaining bullish on utilities.

    Utility companies in Asia have flagged that hyper-scalers are paring back data-centre demand numbers following the region’s aggressive AI growth, Jain said Wednesday at the Morgan Stanley Australia Summit in Sydney.

    “What we’ve learned from a lot of utilities is that there’s probably some more double counting. The numbers might be overstated here” on data-centre appetite, he said. The buzz around artificial intelligence is approaching the “late innings, rather than the mid- or early innings,” he added.

    Known for his contrarian bets, Jain bought into Adani Group stocks in 2023 when shares tanked in the fallout from a Hindenburg Research report that alleged accounting fraud. The fund’s stake in the group swelled to $10 billion in value a year later as stocks recovered, up from an initial investment of $1.9 billion.

    The fund is positive on utilities globally over artificial intelligence, with Jain saying that the sector will continue to benefit from investments in power generation, distribution and transmission.
    The Economic Times

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