Mark Mobius: UK vote to leave will push 'center of gravity' in markets to Asia

Mark Mobius: UK vote to leave will push 'center of gravity' in markets to Asia·CNBC
Matthew J. Belvedere
Updated
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Go East — Far East — global investing guru Mark Mobius is telling investors, saying the U.K. vote to leave the European Union will hasten the swing of the "center of gravity" to Asia.

"More and more trade [and IPOs] will go in that direction," he predicted Wednesday on CNBC's " Squawk Box ," admitting he was "very wrong" on Brexit, which he called an "amazing event."

He added: "I believe now in England there are second thoughts."

Weakening economic cooperation in Europe would benefit Asia, said Mobius, executive chairman of the Templeton Emerging Markets Group. "Nothing has really happened yet because people are sort of frozen like deer in the headlights," he continued. "[But] as we simmer down and begin to think about the future, that certainly will be in people's minds."

The speed at which China moves to free up its currency will be the determining factor in how quickly trade and initial public stock offerings ramp up in Asia, Mobius said.

Against that backdrop, the United States should cooperate with China on trade instead of pursuing the adversarial approach advocated by presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump , Mobius said. He said the Chinese would be open to working with America.

"The U.S. has really got to wake up to what China is doing. And I believe the best path would be for them to cooperate and join with China." Mobius said. "Here, you have two great nations. And if they cooperate, it could be beneficial to both."

Mobius said the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal, opposed by Trump and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton , should include China. "It really doesn't make sense to exclude them," given Beijing's outsized role in the region, he added.

The TPP — which aims to capitalize on trade opportunities in the Asian-Pacific region — involves the U.S. and 11 other nations, including Japan, Singapore and Australia.

For investors, Mobius said they should look East. "With the softening of the U.S. market and with what's happening in Europe, people will begin to think more about diversification. They are very underweight emerging markets."




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