Bloomberg ‘Bull-Market’ Rally Has Begun

‘Bull-Market’ Rally Has Begun, Templeton Asset’s Mobius Says
2009-03-23 02:47:22.463 GMT
By Chua Kong Ho and Paul Gordon
March 23 (Bloomberg) -- The next “bull-market” rally has begun, Templeton Asset Management Ltd.’s Mark Mobius said, refuting predictions that the equities meltdown will continue.
“Stocks are building a base for the next bull market,” said Mobius, 72, who helps oversee about $20 billion of emerging-market assets at San Mateo, California-based Templeton.
The fund is finding “bargains” in every emerging market, which are in “better shape” than developed economies. Templeton is looking for companies that are “cash-rich,”
have low debt and higher dividend yields, Mobius said in a Bloomberg Television interview from Hong Kong. Mobius said he’s looking for companies that can invest for future growth yet have cash left to pay shareholders.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index has gained 23 percent since reaching a four-year low on Oct. 27, outperforming the 2.5 percent drop in the MSCI World Index and 9.5 percent decline in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. Emerging markets made up the 10 best-performing stock benchmark indexes this year, with China’s Shanghai Composite
Index topping the list with a 26 percent gain.

Brazilian oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Cia. Vale do Rio Doce, the world’s biggest iron-ore producer, and Chinese oil producer PetroChina Co. are among the top holdings of Mobius’s Templeton Emerging Markets Trust.
For Related News and Information:
Chinese stocks stories: TNI CHINA STK
The most-read Chinese stock stories: MNI CHS
Global stocks stories: TOP STK
World equity index monitor: WEI
World equity valuations: WPE
Emerging markets market view: EMMV
--With reporting by Leslie Tan in Singapore. Editor: Reinie
Booysen
To contact the reporter on this story:
Chua Kong Ho in Shanghai at +86-21-6104-7011 or
kchua6@bloomberg.net;
Paul Gordon in Hong Kong at +852-2977-6627 or
Pgordon6@bloomberg.net