Rogers: Govt needs a lesson on commodity market

It may have a bigger size than the stock market in India, but the government needs to be taught the meaning of the commodity market to become a top investment destination, renowned investor Jim Rogers feels.

In the present circumstances, India does not stand a chance to match China, not even for the next five years, in terms of investment opportunities in commodity markets, Rogers told PTI in an e-mailed interview from the US.

When asked whether he sees investment opportunities in Indian commodities market, Rogers said, "Yes, but one must be very careful because the India government very often interferes and causes problems."

The 65-year-old Rogers is considered as one of the greatest investor in the commodity space worldwide and is founder of Rogers International Commodities Index (RICI).

He also co-founded Quantum Fund with another legendary investor George Soros, and has made a fortune through aggressive investments in publicly-traded companies and commodities.

While noting that Indian government needs to be explained about the markets and then encourage it, Rogers said, "India should be one of the great commodity centres of the world. It will never become one unless someone teaches the government. It will be too late by the time they wake up." When asked whether he would invest in India, Rogers said, "Not at the moment."

Rogers, who has made significant investments in Chinese commodities market, said that among markets like India, China and Russia, "China is the only one worth talking about".

"If India means what they say, India will be a spectacular opportunity. But I am skeptical, I do not believe they mean it," he said. The turnover has been far higher than stock markets in the commodity markets of India.

In the first 11 months of 2007, turnover at Indian commodity bourses stood at Rs 31,09,507 crore, despite only three exchanges "" MCX, NCDEX and NMCE "" recording active trading with good volumes among a total of 23 bourses. Rogers' love for China is well known.

In his recently published book 'A Bull in China: Investing Profitably in the World's Greatest Market', he has guided investors how to make money in China.

In his interview, Rogers said that India was unlikely to emerge as a better investment destination than China for commodities in the next five years as the Indian government did not understand markets.

"It is anti-markets, nor does it understand them. China's (government) does," he added. Nevertheless, the investor said he was quite optimistic on sugar commodity in India. He said that India's sugar is likely to have a greater impact on global prices in the future.