High-profile emerging markets fund manager Mark Mobius said he is buying into Gulf stock markets and is aiming to form a partnership with National Bank of Kuwait (NBK).
Mobius, executive chairman of United States fund manager Templeton Asset Management, said he was particularly investing in banking, real state shares and specialised businesses such as oil service companies benefiting from oil prices.
"We are investing now in Kuwait and that goes for the rest of the region… there are very attractive opportunities," Mobius, who oversees more than $40 billion (Dh146.8bn) in emerging markets assets, told reporters at a NBK function.
Mobius said valuations of Gulf stocks looked attractive compared with other emerging markets after a correction on some markets.
The Dubai and Saudi stock markets have both fallen this year, while Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Oman have gone up. He declined to discuss individual stocks, saying only the asset management arm of Franklin Resources had bought into NBK.
Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Egypt and Tunisia were among markets where Templeton was investing, he said. "We would love to do more in Saudi Arabia."
Templeton favoured Gulf companies that were spending windfall oil revenues to expand in the Middle East over those sticking to domestic markets, he said.
"We like regional players," he said of companies expanding in markets such as Egypt, where large infrastructure projects were being undertaken. Economic growth in the Gulf was being spurred by local investors who were now spending large oil revenues at home instead of buying into US treasuries, a traditional source of investments.
"There has been a change of mentality now," he said.
Mobius said Templeton was about to form a partnership with NBK, which has become regional player.
"We are now in the midst of formulating it... We are co-operating in managing funds and serving clients," he said.