Mark Mobius, one of the most influential emerging markets investors, passed away at 89. A regular guest on CNBC-TV18 for over 26 years, he once joined us in Mumbai to launch our first market summit. “If you want to understand a market, start with its people,” he said. Here’s a look at his views on investing and where he saw India’s potential.
1 / 6Mark Mobius, Chairman of Mobius Emerging Opportunities Fund, Mobius, who spent decades investing across emerging markets (EMs), died at the age of 89 in Singapore. Here’s a look at his views on investing, from artificial intelligence (AI) to gold, in his CNBC-TV18 conversations in December and August 2025.
2 / 6On India: “As far as we are concerned, India is number one. It’s the most important market in emerging markets, not only because of its size, but because of the youth of the population, and because of the developments that are taking place in India that will be revolutionary. Very important.”
3 / 6On Artificial Intelligence: “There is no question that AI has been pushed and pushed by so many people that it is quite a bubble-like territory. But at the same time, you must remember that AI is here to stay and is expanding. More and more people are adopting AI systems. I myself am using AI almost every day. So, there’s no question that the AI revolution is here to stay and will continue.”
4 / 6On New Age Companies: “We are focusing on companies that are using AI in their development, whether in consumer goods, entertainment, whatever you want to look at, AI will be hitting these companies, and those that are behind will be in trouble. There’s no question that this AI revolution is hitting all companies, and we want to focus on those companies that are able to use AI effectively, without spending too much money, by the way, but using it effectively.”
5 / 6On gold: “I still like gold. I think gold should be part of any portfolio. I hold 10% of my personal assets in gold. And I think going forward, gold will continue to be very good. It doesn’t mean that it’s going to go up in a straight line. There will be corrections along the way, but there’s no question that in US dollar terms, at least, gold will be doing very well simply because of the proliferation of dollars around the world.”
6 / 6On US tariffs: “I am hopeful that the pressure from these US tariffs could bring change to India’s taxation system and the subsequent reforms push could help the Indian economy grow at a better rate.”
