Investor guru and author Jim Rogers said he'd prefer to bet on agriculture to stocks in India for the next five years. Rogers, known for expertise in commodities such as gold and silver, was speaking at the India Today conclave.
To a question where Indians should invest to create supernormal wealth, he said stock markets in the country are at an all-time high right now but suggested against staying invested in stocks for five years. “I would not suggest that you own stocks for five years because. If I were in India now, looking for something, I guess agriculture in India would be a fantastic investment for the next five years,” he added.
“If any of you know how to drive a tractor, go and become a farmer,” said Rogers in a interaction with BTTV Managing Editor Siddharth Zarabi.
On froth across asset classes, Rogers said, "if everybody is making a lot of money, it's time to get worried". The markets guru, best known for cofounding the Quantum Fund and Soros Fund Management with George Soros, said he was embarassed to not being invested in India. "The reason I am not is because the Indian stock market is making all-time highs, somebody is doing something right in India.”
Rogers said India is in a sweet spot at the moment, and has the potential to be “even better in the future’ if the government can keep delivering its promises. “For the first time in my life, I am beginning to think that they (the Indian government) are getting it right.”
"If Mr. Modi does what he says he is going to do, wow, India is going to be even more astonishing than it is now,” Rogers added.
'I will buy silver' Jim Rogers also said that even though gold is at an all-time high, everybody should own some. The 81-year-old veteran investor added that he also owns silver, which is down 50 per cent from its all-time high.
“I own both, and if I were buying today, I would buy silver,” Rogers said.
'Bitcoin will disappear some day'
When asked about his views on Bitcoin, Jim Rogers said he has never bought the cryptocurrencies. He expects them to disappear someday. “I have never bought Bitcoin, I have never sold it. I do have a lot of gold and silver. In my view, cryptocurrencies are good trading vehicles. But I expect them all to disappear someday. Many of them have already disappeared. If you are a good trader, do it. Get rich,” he added.
‘China is depressed’ Jim Rogers also shared his take on China, saying that its economy is “depressed” at the moment. He indicated that the Chinese economy has still not recovered from the devastating blow of Covid-19, and added that the property bubble made its crisis worse.
He said the Chinese property market is “a huge disaster” right now, indicating that it could take the country several years to bounce back to optimal levels.