Mobius: Weaker ringgit makes Malaysia very attractive now

Mobius: ‘One should look at cheaper stocks with good growth but have relatively low price valuations.’

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit, which had fallen more than 15% against the US dollar since January 2015, has made Malaysia very attractive now, says Mark Mobius .

Mobius, who is Templeton Emerging Markets Group's executive chairman also noted that Malaysia's GDP growth has been very good. 

He said on Tuesday while the country's foreign reserves have came down it was still at a good level while its public debt level was manageable.

At midday, the ringgit was at 4.1240 compared with the previous close of 4.1059 following the decline in crude oil prices. Brent crude fell 33 cents to US$39.20 a barrel.

However, year-to-date, the ringgit has strengthened to 4.16% against the greenback.

Mobius also pointed out emerging markets (EM) are at a "turning point" with funds expected to flow back into EMs.

He said fund managers were "underweight" on EMs and it was now at a turning point and prices could jump rapidly, adding that EMs were in "very good shape".

On China, Mobius said while China's growth was decelerating, it was still an enormous economy. He added China’ services sectors were now powering the economy.