MONTREAL _ Quebec's main pension fund manager hopes Warren Buffett's investment in
Suncor Energy Inc. (
TSX: T.SU,
Stock Forum) signals a bigger interest in Canada by the renowned U.S. investor, something that could boost the share value of the companies in which it has invested.
``I hope that it triples the price . . . I hope that it quadruples the price,'' Caisse de depot CEO Michael Sabia said Friday.
Sabia was commenting on reports that Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Holdings held 17.8 million shares of the Western oil producer as of June 30, valued at more than $500 million.
At the same time, the Caisse owned 23.4 million shares worth $689.2 million, according to a U.S. regulatory filing.
Sabia said he hoped that Buffett ``invests in a whole bunch of other things that we're invested in and we just blow the lights out from a returns point of view.''
``So I'm doing everything I can to encourage him to just take our portfolio and put a lot of money in behind it.''
Sabia made the comments in a conference call after the Caisse released its results for the first half of 2013. He also said the Caisse would consider partnering to take
Blackberry (
TSX: T.BB,
Stock Forum) private if conditions are right and continues to have faith in the ability of troubled companies
SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. (
TSX: T.SNC,
Stock Forum) and
Rona Inc. (
TSX: T.RON,
Stock Forum) to turn things around over the long term.
Canada's second-largest institutional investor earned a return of 4.5 per cent on its portfolio in the first six months of 2013, which it said exceeded it reference portfolio, which grew 4.2 per cent.
The Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec's net assets increased to $185.9 billion at the end of June, up from $176.2 billion at the end of 2012.