In conversation with Manifest during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Sir Martin Sorrell, founder and chairperson, S4 Capital, revealed how his predictions of the Indian elections were not on point.

He said, "I was wrong in my prediction of the Indian election results. I thought Narendra Modi would come back in power with a bigger majority. He is a leader with a vision. One may not agree with him and clearly, he has ruffled some feathers, particularly on the religious side."

However, he claimed, "PM Modi is good for India. There are few people with that charisma and vision."

He also spoke about the importance of India as a country on the global stage and saw growth in the country coming on the back of technology.

"If I look at Asia, and the forecast for 2050, three Asian countries will be in the top five globally. The list should include China, the USA, India, Indonesia and Germany. One can’t recreate labour-intensive manufacturing in the USA. So, one could go where there are better rates. Less developed or developing countries such as Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay will benefit. Those five Latin American countries are interesting. The Middle East is also incredibly strong from a growth point of view. Africa continues to be volatile. In Asia, I think India wins. Indonesia will also grow along with Vietnam, Thailand, The Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia," said Sorrell.

In the chat, he also touched upon the Metaverse. After calling it a 'very sexy and much-hyped' platform in 2022, he stated it's under-hyped now.

"There are so many applications in the medical industry where it’s being used. I had cancer last year and I have first-hand experience of seeing that. Surgeons are practising operations and are even performing them using it. It's also being used in the training of pilots," he added.

Read our full chat with Sorrell as part of our detailed Cannes coverage in the July issue of Manifest. Get your copy now!