Buffett interested in acquisitions in India

Famed billionaire investor Warren Buffett on Wednesday said his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway would look at possible acquisitions in India as and when there were opportunities.

"This is a country (India) on the move", the legendary investor said at an interactive session organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

The 80-year-old, who is the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, is on his maiden visit to India.

India offers "all kinds of opportunities," he said. Buffett noted that when some large Indian entity looks for a new permanent home, they do not forget him.

At some point in the next six months or two years or five years, when some large Indian corporation looks for a "permanent new home" and believes that Berkshire Hathaway is "best place in the world", they "don't forget me", he said.

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Berkshire Hathaway has most of its investments in the United States.

The conglomerate had recently forayed into the Indian non-life insurance sector as a corporate agent of Bajaj Allianz General.

Buffett, often called the 'Oracle of Omaha', said India is a very big country with a large number of significant businesses.

Praising India and China, he said both the countries were 'exploding' in terms of opening up human potential. It's not as if the two countries are working harder than before; it's just that they are working smarter, and responding to the needs of their societies, he added.

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On Tuesday, Buffett said  his company continued to look at large countries like India because it needs to make 'large commitments'.

"India is the logical place to look (to make large commitments). So, I hope I spend some money here (India)," he had said.

Terming his company's entry into India as "better late than never", the world's third richest man had said that he understood (companies) that are into soft drinks and chewing gums rather than IT.

The legendary investor would be meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and insurance sector regulator IRDA's chairman J Harinarayan, among others, later this week.