ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) — Russia has large potential for economic growth and many opportunities for foreign investors, who are becoming more and more interested in it, veteran US investor Jim Rogers told Sputnik.
"There's… plenty of opportunities here," Rogers said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), when asked if Russia had potential for economic growth.
Rogers said that he was interested in investing in Russia, had already bought some bonds and stocks recently and was looking to buy more despite some economic difficulties the country has experienced.
"I have learned in my life, in my investing career, that you should buy when there are problems… To find what everybody else is buying and what's popular usually doesn't make you much money… I am delighted to see the opportunities in Russia," Rogers said.
According to Rogers, Russia is becoming increasingly popular with foreign investors.
SPIEF, a major global platform for communication between business representatives and discussion of crucial economic issues, took place in Russia’s second largest city last week. Sputnik News Agency was the official media partner of the forum.
US Government, Central Bank's Potential Actions Worry Investors Most
The US government, due to its rapid changes of stance, and US Federal Reserves System, because of its excessive lowering of interest rates, are the two most worrying factors for investors at the moment, Jim Rogers told Sputnik.
"The main thing that… I am wondering about is the United States government, the United States Central Bank. The United States government seems pretty confused, they keep changing their mind about things… The US Central Bank… printed staggering amounts of money, they've driven interest rates to nothing… That's an unknown for me because they don't know what they're doing. That is going to cause problems for all of us," Rogers said when asked what events or factors investors would follow most attentively in 2017.
The investor added that the interest rates would eventually have to go higher.
Rogers said that the impeachment of President Donald Trump seemed unlikely because the Republican party was controlling the Congress.
"It is very, very unlikely that the Republicans would impeach and remove their own president," the investor said.
Russia's Agriculture, Tourism Sectors Have Best Growth Potential
Agriculture and tourism are the two sectors of Russian economy with the best growth potential, but there are other investment opportunities as well, Jim Rogers told Sputnik.
"Agriculture has got a great future in Russia; tourism, especially Asian tourism," Rogers said when asked about potential for economic growth in Russia.
According to Rogers, a number of companies in Russia would benefit from China's One Belt One Road initiative, which aims to create a trade corridor in Eurasia that will directly supply goods from the eastern to the western part of the continent on favorable terms.
