Long-term outlook on Greece still good: Templeton's Mobius

[LONDON] Franklin Templeton emerging markets fund manager Mark Mobius said on Thursday that Greece's long-term investment outlook remained good, adding that the country's bank stocks looked attractive.

Greek financial markets have been hit hard in recent weeks after the leftist Syriza party won an election in January, since Syriza has expressed opposition to austerity measures imposed on Greece by its international creditors.

However, Mr Mobius - the prominent fund manager heading Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust - said he was not planning any changes to his investment strategy following the Greek election.

"At this time, we don't plan any changes to our investment strategy as a result of the vote, but we will be watching developments closely. As always, we'll be looking for potential values that may surface in emerging Europe," Mr Mobius said in an emailed statement.

"We believe the long-term investment outlook for Greece is good. Greek stocks are generally not overvalued at this time based on our research, although there are significant differences in valuations. Greek banks look particularly attractive to us, if we assume a long-term recovery of the Greek economy," he added.

REUTERS