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Mark Mobius’ Favoured Themes In India: Quick-Service Restaurants, Bollywood

Why Templeton’s Mark Mobius like the entertainment and leisure-related sectors in India.

Customers eat at a Domino’s Pizza outlet, operated by Jubilant Foodworks Ltd., after the opening of the company’s 600th Indian restaurant in New Delhi, India. (Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg)
Customers eat at a Domino’s Pizza outlet, operated by Jubilant Foodworks Ltd., after the opening of the company’s 600th Indian restaurant in New Delhi, India. (Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg)

Domestic demand, fuelled by improved education, rising wages and higher productivity, is generally the bigger economic driver in emerging Asia, says Templeton Emerging Markets Group’s Mark Mobius in a blog post. This, in turn, benefits the entertainment and leisure activities in these economies.

…it belies the misconception some Westerners still have that manufacturing and low-wage exports are the main economic drivers of emerging markets.
Mark Mobius, Executive Chairman, Templeton Emerging Markets Group

In India, the culture of eating out is poised for further growth, and a young population, rising disposable incomes and more women in the workforce will be the key drivers of that growth, Mobius writes.

Already, about half of India's total population eats out at least once every three months and in bustling urban metro areas, the number stands at eight times in a month, according to Templeton’s analysis.

Another leisure-related sector that Mobius is bullish on is India’s booming film industry.

The “Bollywood” name has become globally recognisable with an annual output of more than 1,000 films, which is double that of Hollywood, although Bollywood’s revenues are much lower and only about 15 percent of which come from international sales. 
Mark Mobius, Executive Chairman, Templeton Emerging Markets Group

It’s this low cost of producing animation in India and other Asian countries that has added another dimension to the film industries in these countries that could spur further growth, he added.

To read the entire blog, click here.