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

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.
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