Templeton's buying SE Asia

Templeton's buying SE Asia

LONDON (Reuters): Influential international investor Mark Mobius said yesterday he was buying into Southeast Asia with Thailand the current top buy.

The president of Templeton's Emerging Market Funds said in a statement he also favored Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Mobius said he was following the investment group's core maxim of buying when others were despondently selling and selling when others were buying.

"Never has this been so appropriate," he said.

Although the macro-economic picture for Southeast Asia remained "pretty dark", Mobius said stock markets should stabilize in the first part of 1998 before strengthening towards the end of the year.

Disappointing 1997 earnings reports to be posted next year would simply confirm the bad news already in the market, he added.

"Most people will write off these markets while they are recovering -- but Templeton will be buying," Mobius said.