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Ang multinational holding conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway - na binibilang ang kritiko ng kritiko na si Warren Buffett bilang CEO at chairman nito - ay namuhunan ng $ 600 milyon sa dalawang fintech na kumpanya sa pagbabayad na nakatuon sa mga umuusbong na mga merkado, iniulat ng Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Oktubre 29.
Ang parehong mga pamumuhunan ay sinasabing pinangunahan ng isa sa dalawang mga tagapamahala ng portfolio ng Berkshire, si Todd Combs. Noong Agosto, iniulat ng Berkshire na bumili ng humigit-kumulang na $ 300 milyong taya sa parent company ng Paytm, ang pinakamalaking serbisyo sa pagbabayad sa mobile ng India.
Ang ikalawang investment ay ginawa lamang sa nakaraang linggo, sa pamamagitan ng pagbili ng pagbabahagi sa isang paunang pampublikong alok (IPO) para sa Brazilian pagbabayad processor StoneCo, ang ika-apat na pinakamalaking bansa sa pamamagitan ng lakas ng tunog.
Ang WSJ ay nagpapahiwatig na ang parehong mga desisyon ay nagmamarka ng isang bagay ng isang pag-alis para sa Berkshire, na kung saan ay may $ 711.932 bilyon sa mga ari-arian sa ilalim ng pamamahala ng 2018, at pinakakilala sa mga pamumuhunan nito sa mga blue-chip firms tulad ng Coca-Cola at acquisitions ng mga utility at mga kompanya ng seguro.
Sa nakalipas na sinabi ni Buffett na ang mga tech investment ay lampas sa kanyang larangan ng kadalubhasaan, ang mga tala ng WSJ.
That tech is not within Buffett’s “circle of competence” was affirmed by self-professed Buffett disciple venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya this spring, when he took his icon to task for his virulent anti-crypto stance.
Combs, alongside Berkshire’s second portfolio manager Ted Weschler, are nonetheless reported to be “widening the net” of the conglomerate: yet, as WSJ highlights, both Stone and Paytm are considered to be established companies, which dominate their respective local markets and operate in tightly regulated industries.
The WSJ says Berkshire’s backing is a sign of the “maturity” of the fintech sector, which reportedly raised almost $35 billion in venture capital during the first three quarters of 2018.
Berkshire’s move to put major capital into two fintech firms that target emerging markets squares uneasily with the vocal position of Buffett, who has become notorious in fintech and crypto circles for castigating Bitcoin (BTC) as being “rat poison-squared.” He has made repeated statements claiming that Bitcoin is neither a currency, nor a way of investing. In October 2017, Buffet predicted that Bitcoin had entered the “bubble territory,” and was set “to implode.”
India saw soaring demand for cryptocurrencies during the period of economic turmoil that followed its prime minister’s bold — and still highly contentious — demonetization policy in late 2016. Crypto’s popularity continued through 2017, eliciting a controversial anti-crypto crackdown from the country’s central bank (RBI) this April, which has prompted both public and industry-led petitions.
As a final verdict on the RBI ban continues to be repeatedly stayed, the judiciary has now thrown the ball back in the executive’s court, setting a deadline for the government to clarify and finally cement its official position on crypto by mid-November.
This month, in Brazil, the country’s largest brokerage has revealed it will launch a Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) exchange, saying it was pushed into the crypto business by the popularity of the asset class among investors.
Pinagmulan: COINTELEGRAM (https://cointelegraph.com/news/warren-buffetts-holding-invests-600-mln-in-fintech-firms-focused-on-emerging-markets)