Malaysia bourse stable with good outlook

The local bourse is stable and growing with a good outlook, bolstered by government policy for growth, the Executive
Chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group Dr Mark Mobius said today.

Mobius, an investment guru and hedge fund legend, said the stock market is a reflection of the country's economy.

"As the Malaysian government continues to liberalise its economy, the phase of growth is going to be booming," he told reporters at a media briefing on investing in emerging markets here today.

Mobius was asked to describe the future of Malaysian bourse moving forward.

Asked whether the upcoming general election will have negative impact on the local economy, he said the election will not have an unfavourable impact.


"The political parties are pretty much in agreement in terms of where they want to move for the economy.

"The thing that really helps Malaysia is the growing liberalisation of the market. The government is moving rapidly towards liberalisation of trade and communications," he said.

Mobius said moving forward, emerging markets like Latin America and Southeast Asia will continue to grow rapidly.

"For Southeast Asia, the Indonesia market is generally untapped, Myanmar is a whole new player, Vietnam is beginning to take off while the Philippines has yet to take off.

"This is positive for the whole region with a 500 million population, tremendous mineral resources, human resources, commodities and don't forget tourism, which provide tremendous growth prospects," he said.

He said Malaysia, in this regard, is a preferred destination as a
springboard into other Asean countries by foreign investors due to language similarity and higher per capita income.

Mobius, whose awards include "50 Most Influential People" by Bloomberg Markets Magazine in 2012, has spent more than 40 years working in emerging markets all over the world. Bernama