New Delhi, Sep 3 : Billionaire investor Mark Mobius has said that India remains the leading emerging market and China cannot surpass India's growth in the long run.

Mobius highlighted that despite US tariffs on Indian exports and short-term volatility, India's domestic demand, government reforms, and entrepreneurial resilience will maintain its lead over other emerging markets. The ace investor has invested nearly 20 per cent of his portfolio in India.

In an interview with the Economic Times, he said that sectors like pharmaceuticals, gems, and apparel may be affected by US President Donald Trump's 50 per cent tariff on exports. However, he believes Indian businesses can adapt by moving manufacturing to other markets such as Africa.

'Indian entrepreneurs are very creative. I think they will be able to get around some of these problems,' Mobius said.

Regarding US tariffs, he said, 'At most, exports may shave off 0.5 per cent to 0.75 per cent from economic growth. But India's domestic market is enormous and still expanding rapidly. Even if the growth estimate falls from 6 per cent to 5.5 per cent, it's not a big issue," he added.

The billionaire investor said that the US government should not single out India for Russian oil imports, pointing out that China is purchasing a similar amount. He suggested negotiations could resolve these differences, especially as global crude prices have dropped.

He also highlighted the weaker rupee as a positive for exporters and noted that government support measures will cushion the blow. 'The Indian market looks healthy. The economy is still doing very well. Eventually, India and the US will reach an agreement because this situation cannot last long,' Mobius noted.

The global investor had earlier said that India has the potential to become even the second-largest economy in the world. India now has a substantially larger population than China. It is now estimated that China's population is actually 800 million or less, with an average age much higher than India's 1.4 billion people," he said.

In just a few years, India has risen from being the world's 11th-largest economy to the fourth largest. As of 2025, India trails behind the US, China and Germany in terms of total GDP.

/IANS