JPMorgan Chase chief praises Modi, says he has done an 'unbelievable' job

JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken 400 million people out of poverty

American multinational financial institution JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon has praised Narendra Modi, saying the Indian Prime Minister has done an unbelievable job. "I know the liberal press here, they beat the hell out of him. He's taken 400mn people out of poverty," Dimon told the British business daily Financial Times (FT) in an interview on Tuesday as Modi hopes to return to power for a third time this summer.

Dimon, 68, the head of the largest US bank by assets, is known to comment on issues beyond Wall Street. His praise for the Indian Prime Minister came days after FT's editorial board noted reserving political freedoms is in the best interests of India's growth and prosperity, and of the Modi government's ambitions to enhance the country's role as a leading member of the global community.

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The board cited a squeeze on free expression and opposition and said it has been a feature of the rule of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), especially since its second general election victory five years ago. It said harassment, often by tax or legal authorities, has become common for government critics, be they independent media, academics, think tanks, or civil society groups. It added the BJP's muscular Hindu nationalism has eroded India's tradition of secular democracy.

Dimon separately told FT that the US economy is "booming". But he warned that he was "on the cautious side" of there being a soft landing. Dimon said the state of the US economy was "unbelievable" and had been "booming for a while" following fears that the Federal Reserve's rapid series of interest rate increases would tip the economy into a recession.

Dimon said he was surprised that geopolitical tensions had not had a bigger impact on the price of oil, which is trading at about $88 a barrel. "I'm a little surprised that things haven't gotten worse for oil and gas," he said, citing risks of attacks on energy infrastructure. "It doesn't take a lot to send oil and gas prices back to $120 or higher."

FT noted Dimon's stature on Wall Street has led to calls last year for him to run for president from the likes of hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman. "I've always said I'd love to be president, but you'd have to anoint me, folks," Dimon said. He called on more people from the business community to serve in government and said he wanted the next president to put the other party in their cabinet. "So if it's [Joe] Biden, he puts some Republicans in his cabinet. If it's [Donald] Trump he puts some Democrats in his cabinet. I would like to see practitioners go back to government, like all of us — like not me, but you — go help and serve."