Templeton’s Mobius still prefers Thailand

We are not so concerned about the political situation in Thailand,Mobius said in a telephone interview.

Because as you know,we have been investing in Thailand for almost 15 years or more. And we think that this kind of change in the Thai political environment has happened many times before.

Red-shirted supporters of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra,who was ousted in a military coup in 2006,have been protesting in Bangkok for a month to force early elections.

The government imposed a state of emergency on Wednesday. Generally speaking,we’ve found that the political situation does not have that much impact on the economic situation and the recovery can come very fast,Mobius said.

So we are very happy with what’s happening in Thailand,generally,on the business side and on the stock market side,and any big problem in terms of the political situation will normally be worked out OK.

Among Southeast Asian markets,Mobius said he is underweight on Malaysia and the Philippines but sees bargains in Thailand,although he said selling as tension rose this week was justified.

Foreigners had bought $1.8 billion in Thai stocks from Feb. 22 until Thursday,when they were net sellers by a slight $43 million and the market fell 3.5 percent in thin volume.

The market was flat on Friday.

In Thailand,Mobius likes banks,property shares and energy-related stocks,expecting those sectors to thrive as the economy recovers.

Among his top picks are leading energy firm PTT,also by far the biggest listed company with an index weighting of 12 percent,and Siam Commercial Bank.