Jim Rogers Bullish On India, 'Want To Invest Now In More Permanent Way'

Veteran investor Jim Rogers sounded bullish on India amid the period of global uncertainty, stating that the South Asian economy is one of the places where he intends to invest.

Rogers, in a conversation with NDTV Profit on Tuesday, expressed growing confidence in India's economic direction and maintains a positive outlook for the country.

"In the last few weeks for me, India has become more reliable. Delhi, for the first time in my investing life, understands economics. I understand that prosperity is good and I want to invest in India now in a more permanent way," the 82-year-old said.

"Something has happened and I hope I am right. India is going to be much more exciting if this assessment is right," added Rogers, who is also the co-founder of Quantum Fund.

His remarks comes at a time when Indian stock markets have shown a resurgence following the correction seen earlier this year. The NSE Nifty 50, India's frontline equity market index, has reclaimed 24,500-mark and has narrowed the gap with its September-high to only 6.5%.

Reports of a pause and a reduction in the US-China tariffs have spurred market optimism, yet the sustainability of the move remain uncertain, according to Rogers.

"The situation with Trump is that next week he'll see something on TV and change his mind. Some one like Margaret Thatcher, we at least knew how she would think and how she will change her mind," the veteran said.

Pointing towards Trump's shifting stances, Rogers said that for him, it depends on what he watches and that makes it difficult for investors to predict the nature of US policy decisions.

"If you are looking for consistency from Washington, you're sure in the wrong business because they do not know how to be consistent. They do not have their own constant guiding principles. They do what they feel like that morning or what their constituents call and tell them," Rogers said.

Despite the recent rally in US markets, Rogers said he maintains a cautious stance. "I personally have a lot of US dollar cash though the markets have been doing really well. I know that Washington does not know what it really wants. They want to get rich but everybody wants to get rich. So I don't see any consistency for me as an investor yet."

Navigating the market volatility is increasingly difficult as the long-term direction of US economic policy remains unclear to investors, the analyst further added.