India, U.S. seeing fund inflows after China crackdown

By Divya Chowdhury

MUMBAI (Reuters) – India, the United States and parts of other emerging markets have seen fund inflows redirected from China as recent regulatory crackdowns in the world’s second-biggest economy have spooked markets, according to veteran investor Mark Mobius.

“I would say half the money has just left … But I think that is temporary, it will not last,” Mobius, emerging markets fund manager and founder of Mobius Capital Partners, told the Reuters Global Markets Forum (GMF) on Tuesday.

Mobius said his firm was “heavily concentrated in India”, with about a 20% allocation, adding that he was bullish on sectors ranging from medical testing to industrial equipment.

“It’s a pretty wide scope that we have in India. Lots of opportunities.”

Mobius earlier made his name as an emerging markets guru with U.S. money manager Franklin Templeton, where he managed over $50 billion in EM portfolios.

The effects of China’s crackdown will be temporary, and over the long-term, curb monopolistic trends enabling small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) to thrive, said Mobius, whose firm manages over $414 million in assets.

The unpredictability of China’s regulatory measures https://reut.rs/3xrDq79 make the country unappealing to foreign investors in the short term but could make it attractive in the long run, global fund managers told GMF last week.

In China, Mobius was upbeat on medical equipment makers, healthcare, higher-level education companies that haven’t been impacted by the recent crackdowns, consumer products and fast food.

“We feel that it’s good where we are,” he said, adding that he would consider buying some stocks, especially in the SME segment, given the recent price corrections.

“There are opportunities now in China as a result of this panic following the government intervention,” Mobius said.

Along with India, Mobius said his fund was bullish on Taiwan and Brazil.

Graphic: Performance of select EM stock markets https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/jnpwegnbypw/Performance%20of%20select%20EM%20stock%20markets.png

(This interview was conducted in the Reuters Global Markets Forum chat room on Refinitiv Messenger. Join GMF: https://refini.tv/33uoFoQ)