India could be the ideal site for emerging market investment, according to one ETF expert.
Kevin Carter, founder and chief investment officer of EMQQ Global, told CNBC’s “ETF Edge” this week that India’s population demographics, growing economy and technology-oriented policy make the country highly investable.
“You’ve got a government that’s a democracy that’s supporting technology, and you’ve got a talent pool that’s really unmatched on the planet,” he said. “So it really is in every way the perfect emerging market.”
Carter, who manages the India Internet & Ecommerce ETF (INQQ), underscored the significance of India’s technology investments in particular.
“What’s coming along with that is $12 super computers,” said Carter, referencing the Jio Bharat smartphone released this year, which aims to close the connectivity gap between India’s rural and urban populations. “The smartphone is bringing those billions of consumers online for the first time.”
That, according to Carter, is revolutionizing the financial system in a country of more than one billion people.
“What they’ve used that to do is basically enable about 800 million people to open a digital bank account using just their fingerprints and their eyeball, and also to open about 500 million new smartphone subscriptions. So they’ve brought everyone in the financial system, and they brought everyone there in a technological way.”
Carter’s INQQ ETF focuses on Indian e-commerce and internet companies, targeting growth in the country’s digital economy. Per the fund’s website, as of Dec. 22, its top holding is Reliance Industries, the conglomerate behind the $12 smartphone boom.
“No other country on the planet has anything like this in terms of a digital foundation for their entire economy,” Carter added.
