I spoke with Bridget Anderson on Cambridge House Live about India, China, Singapore, gold, and the junior mining sector.

In this discussion, I explained why the popular optimism about India is misplaced. India is growing slowly, remains extraordinarily corrupt, and is becoming increasingly chaotic. I also compared India with China, discussed why Singapore offers a safer and freer environment in many practical ways, and explained my cautious approach to investing in junior mining companies.

Watch the full discussion below:

Key Takeaways

• India’s growth story is exaggerated; the economy is stagnant, corrupt, and increasingly chaotic.
• India should not be compared with China, whose economy is far larger on a per-capita basis and much better organized.
• India’s unemployment problem is worsening, especially among young people with rising expectations.
• Poor education, weak discipline, and a bad work ethic make India’s problems difficult to solve in the short or medium term.
• Singapore offers an example of a safer, more functional society, even though it is not a Western-style democracy.
• The junior mining sector remained under pressure, and a short-term bounce in share prices could have been driven by the end of tax-loss selling.
• My investment approach was to value companies using the current gold price, or a lower gold price, and require a meaningful upside before investing.