Asia’s richest man: China will be ‘increasingly isolated' from world; India will be poverty-free by 2050

Indian billionaire and Asia’s richest person Gautam Adani expressed pessimism regarding China, saying the country “will feel increasingly isolated” as he remained optimistic about India’s future economy.

In his keynote speech at the 20th Forbes Global CEO conference in Singapore on Tuesday, Adani said he believes several factors would impact China's economy, such as "Increasing nationalism, supply chain risk mitigation, and technology restrictions."

Adani said China’s Belt and Road initiative, a “demonstration of its global ambition,” might also face challenges as resistance continues. He also commented on China’s housing and credit risks, which he compared toJapan’s “Lost Decade” in the 1990s when the country’s economic bubble collapsed.

“While I expect all these economies will readjust over time — and bounce back — the friction of the bounce-back looks far harder this time,” Adani said.

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The comments came days after Adani, a college dropout, overtook Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos as the world’s second-richest person. Adani is the founder and chairperson of the Adani Group, an Indian conglomerate that controls companies ranging from port development to military defense and thermal power generation.

Despite the pessimistic outlook on China’s economy, Adani believes that India’s future is bright in terms of “political, geostrategic, and market perspective.” After recently overtaking the United Kingdom to become the world’s fifth-largest economy, Adani declared that India is “on the path to be the world’s third largest economy by 2030.”

“The fact is India’s real growth is just starting — as it goes from its 75th year of freedom this year — towards its 100th year of independence,” Adani said. “Our country calls this period — Amrit Kaal. Meaning the perfect period for beginning a better tomorrow.”

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“India will also be poverty-free, well before 2050,” he added. “We will be a country with a median age of just 38 years even in 2050 — and a country with the largest consuming middle class the world will ever see.”

Featured Image via Forbes Asia

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