Mark Mobius has warned investors to be "very, very careful" when considering the investment opportunity of China, due to recent financial crackdowns by the government.
Despite China's recent lifting of Covid restrictions and economic recovery that have painted a much more enticing investment picture for the country, the founder of Mobius Capital Partners highlighted new issues with the nation.
In an interview with FOX Business, he said: "Now you have a government which is taking gold in shares in companies all over China, that means they are going to try to control all of these companies.
"I do not think it is a very good picture when you see the government becoming more and more control-oriented in the economy."
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Mobius added he has been personally affected by the Chinese stance on the matter, as he has been unable to get money out of the country.
"I have an account with HSBC in Shanghai. The government is restricting the flow of money out of the country, so I would be very, very careful investing in China," he said.
"They do not say ‘No, you cannot get your money out', but they say, ‘Give us all your records from 20 years of how you made your money' and so forth."
Mobius explained he is getting around these restrictions by going via Hong Kong, since the special administrative region "seems to be a little more open and able to get money in and out".
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For those looking to allocate capital to emerging markets, however, the billionaire investor said India and Brazil are currently very viable alternatives.
"You have got a billion people, they can do the same thing that the Chinese do. They can do the same kind of manufacturing and so forth," he added. "I am now in Brazil [where] you have got 250 million-plus people [and an] open society."
Mobius Capital Partners has been contacted for comment.
