Seligman Technology Fund Manager Shifts India Bets for China

May 22 (Bloomberg) -- J&W Seligman & Co.’s global technology fund is shifting investments into China and out of India after it beat 90 percent of peers over the past year by owning some of the subcontinent’s biggest companies.

“We’re not in India at all right now,” Richard Parower, who manages $4.5 billion out of the $17 billion in assets at New York-based J&W Seligman, said in an interview. “It’s basically the consumer recession. Their end markets have slowed down.”

The Indian Congress Party’s biggest election victory in two decades fueled a record 17 percent jump in the nation’s benchmark index on May 18, raising concern about valuations. China and Sri Lanka offer better investment opportunities than India, Jim Rogers, who set up Singapore-based Rogers Holdings after co-founding the Quantum Fund with George Soros, said today.

The Congress party won the most seats since 1991, enabling it to start forming a new government without support from communist lawmakers.

“We still need to see the regulatory framework,” said Parower. “We need to see whether they will allow investors to go short or long. I’m more optimistic about its long-term outlook.”

The Seligman Global Technology Fund has gained 23 percent this year, compared with a 15 percent advance for technology stocks in the MSCI World Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Over the past year, the fund lost 25 percent, compared with the 33 percent drop for that MSCI index.

Parower said he sold stakes in Satyam Computer Services Ltd. and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. “a while ago” because of concern the global slump would hurt demand. The U.S., Europe and Japan are in recession and Standard & Poor’s said today Britain may lose its AAA credit rating for the first time.

‘Rocky Road’

Indian software companies such as Infosys Technologies Ltd. face a “rocky road” in the next six to 12 months, Parower said. The fund manager said he’s buying Chinese Internet companies including Perfect World Co., an online game developer, and recently sold Baidu Inc., the operator of China’s most-used Internet search engine, after a “great run.”

Baidu’s American depositary receipts have jumped 83 percent this year, boosted by speculation online demand will surge as the world’s third-biggest economy recovers.

BNP Paribas SA said today selling Indian stocks after the rally may be a “mistake” as fund managers reallocate their holdings to add more of the nation’s equities.