New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday praised American-German investor Mark Mobius, who is considered a godfather for emerging markets such as India, China and Brazil among others. Addressing a programme organised by a news outlet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed India’s growth potential saying that marquee investors such as Mark Mobius are looking at the Indian markets favourably which speaks volumes about the country’s growth potential.
In his address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also pointed out the longstanding love of global investors such as Mark Mobius for India. "Mark Mobius is one of the many people, who love India. His excitement about the opportunities here speaks volumes. When he suggests that global funds should invest at least 50 per cent in the Indian stock market, it carries a significant message," Modi said.
In August this year, Mark Mobius talked about investing in India and the US markets. He expressed his idea about investing fifty-fifty in both countries for the next six months, one year and beyond three years, as per reports. Addressing the programme, where emerging market investor Mark Mobius was present, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Today so many things are happening in the country. A lot of rating agencies have upwardly revised India’s growth forecast due to the pace picked up by the country in our third term.”
“Here learned experts such as Mark Mobius are present, who love India the most. The way they are excited about investment opportunities in the country, it’s very important. When investors like him advise global funds to invest at least 50 per cent in India’s share markets then it speaks volumes, it’s a significant message,” said the Prime Minister.
In the programme, the Prime Minister also talked about the first 125 days of his third term. "I would like to share my experiences of these 125 days with you. In this period, 30 million new homes for the poor have been approved. In these 125 days, we have also started working on infrastructure projects worth Rs 9 trillion," Modi said.
Prime Minister Modi said there was no ill feeling for India around the world as it has friendly ties with almost all nations in the world. He also appreciated India's efforts towards eradicating poverty while pursuing national development.
Talking about the era of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, the Prime Minister said India is powered by another AI--Aspirational India--which accelerates the country's growth.
He said the country will use technology in every sector to boost the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). “This is the era of AI and the future of the world is linked with it.”
“India is powered by two AIs. For the world, it is Artificial Intelligence, but in India, it's Aspirational India plus Artificial Intelligence. When the two meet, it accelerates India's growth,” said the Prime Minister.
Talking about the country’s rapid growth during the time of great uncertainty caused by the Russia-Ukraine war and the war in the Middle East, the Prime Minister said India was a ray of hope for the world in these times.
Who is Mark Mobius, the Godfather of emerging markets?
Mark Mobius is an American-German global investor, who has been described as the Godfather of emerging markets such as India, China, Brazil and South Africa among others.
As per information available on his website, the 88-year-old global investor has $40 billion in assets under management with investments into over 5,000 companies around the world.
Mark Mobius also has over three decades of experience in investing in emerging markets such as India. He joined Franklin Templeton in 1987 to lead the global investment group’s emerging markets investment portfolio. At Franklin Templeton, Mobius managed and supervised Franklin Templeton’s investment in one and a half dozen emerging markets with investments in the range of $50 billion.
In 2015, after leading the company for over 25 years, Mark Mobius decided to step down as the lead manager of the Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust (TEMIT). He was succeeded by Carlos Hardenberg.
He, however, continued to work with the New York-based global investment firm till January 2018 and after leaving the group, Mobius launched his own Mobius Capital Partners together with his former Templeton colleagues Carlos Hardenberg and Greg Konieczny.
Mark Mobius on India’s growth story
Earlier this month, Mark Mobius expressed his confidence in the country’s growth story, saying that India is catching up with China, the second biggest economy in the world after the USA. He was particularly bullish about the country’s real estate sector, saying it was one of the most exciting sectors of the Indian economy.
Mobius said the demand for housing in India will continue to soar making it a critical long-term growth driver. He also expressed optimism about other allied sectors such as metals and automobiles due to the sharp increase in the infrastructure spending by the government.
India being the world’s largest exporter of pharma products, pharma stocks remain an area of interest for the emerging market investor who is also bullish on India’s efforts to develop the semiconductor industry.
