China's loss is India's gain, Mark Mobius bets more investments coming

The American-German is starting a venture in Dubai which also focuses on emerging markets but with an emphasis on technology-related companies.

Veteran investor Mark Mobius has said that India is the biggest beneficiary of a slowdown in Chinese markets. "India is going to be getting a lot of money that normally would have gone to China," Mark Mobius said in a conversation with CNBC-TV18. "It is already happening. If you look at the numbers, you will see flows of money coming into India have been quite substantial and are increasing. And that includes not only portfolio investment but also private investments."

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In a first since 1988, China's foreign direct investment for the September quarter turned negative. The country's CSI 300 index, designed to replicate the performance of the top 300 stocks traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, has given a negative return of 6 percent in the last 12 months.

Mobius, who's also referred to as the 'Godfather of Emerging Markets investing', has been particularly impressed by the return on investment of Indian companies. "It's amazing when we do scans of the Indian market, how many companies have a high return on investment, which is a good indicator of growth prospects because if you have a high return on investment, you have a lot of money to reinvest and grow", the 87-year-old said. "So this is quite a very interesting phenomenon that we've seen," he added.

Read more: Mark Mobius sees Sensex at 1 lakh in next 5 years; bets on Dreamfolks, MapmyIndia and more

Further on India, Mobius said the Gen Z population (15-25) is a crucial trigger for companies to see India as an attractive proposition. He highlighted that companies around the world will want to take advantage of the young population who are getting richer, are ambitious, want to work, want to play, and want to spend. "This is all very exciting".

Earlier in November, Mobius announced stepping back at Mobius Capital Partners, a venture he co-founded about five years ago. The American-German will launch a new venture in Dubai, focused on emerging markets but with an emphasis on technology companies.

Also Read | 'It’s been an incredible journey,' says Mark Mobius as he steps back from Mobius Capital Partners

"We are looking at companies and situations in areas where AI is being used more extensively, and the entire digitalisation of the economies around the world, particularly in emerging markets is very important and of course, India is probably the best example of that," Mobius said.