'Can't get my money out': Mark Mobius recommends India over China as investment destination

Market expert Mark Mobius has said that investors doing business with China should be cautious after investment outflows from his HSBC account have been "restricted" by the country. He added that rules in India are far more transparent for investors. 

“I'm personally affected because I have an account with HSBC in Shanghai. I can't get my money out. The government is restricting the flow of money out of the country. So I would be very, very careful investing in China," Mark Mobius was quoted by FOX Business.  

The founder of Mobius Capital Partners added that China's economy is headed "in a completely different direction" than its former open-minded-market revolutionary leader Deng Xiaoping. 

"Now you have a government that is taking gold in shares in companies all over China. That means they're going to try to control all these companies. So I don't think it's a very good picture when you see the government becoming more and more control oriented in the economy," Mobius said. 

In contrast, Hong Kong "seems to be a little more open," he claimed. He said he had no trouble getting his money "in and out" of the financial centre. 

Speaking of India as a viable alternative with the most economic opportunity, Mobius said one billion Indians can perform the same tasks as the Chinese. 

"You've got a billion people (Indians), they can do the same thing that the Chinese do. They can do the same kind of manufacturing and so forth," he said. 

Earlier on Sunday, China set a modest target for economic growth this year of around 5 per cent, a government work report on Sunday stated after the National People's Congress (NPC) kicked off its annual parliamentary session. 

China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by just 3 per cent last year, one of its worst showings in decades, mostly due to three years of COVID-19 restrictions, the crisis in its vast property sector, a crackdown on private enterprise and weakening demand for Chinese exports. 

A Reuters report said that this year's target of around 5 per cent was at the low end of expectations, a range as high as 6 per cent could be set. 

The report added that outgoing Premier Li Keqiang said it was essential to prioritise economic stability, setting a goal to create around 12 million urban jobs this year, up from last year's target of at least 11 million. 

China also set a goal of 3 per cent for the consumer price index, and a 5.5 per cent unemployment rate for people in cities — with the creation of around 12 million new urban jobs. That’s more than last year’s target of “over 11 million”. 

The work report called for implementing “prudent monetary policy” in a “targeted” way. The deficit-to-GDP ratio is expected to increase to 3 per cent from 2.8 per cent last year, the report said.
 

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