Tata best business group in India, Ratan Tata was a humble figure: Mark Mobius

Terming Tata Group the best business group in India, global investor Mark Mobius on Monday recalled that he had met the (recently-deceased) Ratan Tata a few years ago and “despite being a titan of the Indian Industry, he was very humble”.

Participating in the ‘NDTV World Summit 2024’ Mobius talked about his investment mantra and said he looks at return-on-equity, debt-to-equity, and the management quality of the company as key levers for making investment decisions.

“I don’t look at PE (Price to Earning) ratio the way I used to. This is because the E of PE is backward-looking. The most important metric is the quality of the management. That is why I travel so much, to meet these people,” he said.

Mobius said that India is going to become a leader in the semiconductor sector in the coming times. The reason for this is demand, a good economy and a strong software ecosystem in India.

The veteran investor further said that everyone has benefited from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s digitisation programme, which is “one of his greatest achievements”.

He further said that Prime Minister Modi has integrated the tax system with Goods and Services Tax (GST), which is a big change.

“International financial institutions understood that if want to create wealth, you have to create a market economy. That was a critical decision. For market economy, you need stock markets to raise capital,” Mobius said.

Mobius also advised young investors to never rush into the market. “You should understand the market well and invest in selected stocks based on logic”.

Earlier speaking to IANS on the sidelines of the summit,’ Mobius, 88, said India is in a very good position to act as a mediator for peace on the global stage. “The country has shown its ability to be neutral and to be fair to all, so it could be a great mediator between Russia and Ukraine. PM Modi is very well qualified to be a key mediator in the world today,” he stressed.

(With inputs from IANS)