Political situations concern Soros more than financial markets

Billionaire investor George Soros is more concerned about the political situation in countries like the US — which he feels can foster global instability — than financial crisis.

Billionaire investor George Soros is more concerned about the political situation in countries like the US — which he feels can foster global instability — than financial crisis.

“I’m more concerned about the political situation,” said Soros, the 27th richest American with a wealth of $8.5 billion, adding, “I’m not concerned about the financial markets. Boom and bust are areas I have specialised in.”

However, the man who made a fortune by speculating in Far East Asia, UK and South America said he’s watching the ongoing deceleration in the US housing market. “The housing sector in the US which witnessed a boom is currently deflated. I don’t know whether there’ll be a soft or hard landing for the sector. But I’m watching the situation closely,” he said at the Global PanIIT conference here on Saturday.

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But Soros was not very keen to discuss about his investment plans in India. “We would like to keep a low profile which I believe is very appropriate. I will be investing in India; my representatives are taking care of the investments in India. I would not like to talk about it,” Soros said.

The investment guru said India now presents a very favourable outlook. For the next three years, there will be tremendous opportunities in India. However, he made it clear tha the challenge would be to ensure that a good majority of the people are benefited by the rate of growth in India. India has the task of satisfying not just the minority of the population. Majority of the population should benefit from India’s economic success.”

What’re the big challenges ahead for India? Education and meeting the human resource need would be big challenges for India in the next 3-5 years. “India must focus more on education. It must ensure that more children get elementary education,” Soros said.

On his investment strategy, Soros said, “There’s no secret. When I’m investing, I play according to the rules. When I know the weakness in a system, it gives me more confidence to invest and make money. India is emerging as an important playground… and needs more investors.”

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Soros, known for his big-time currency speculation, refused to comment about the rupee. “I’m here only for 48 hours,” he said. But on the dollar, he said, “I know what its future is but I don’t have the liberty to disclose it.”

Soros is currently on a regional trip to publicise his new book “The Age of Fallibility”.