Vietnam, together with Nigeria, Kazakhstan and Ukraine, is among "particularly cheap" so-called frontier stock markets even as developing nations face a "correction" that may exceed 20 percent, investor Mark Mobius said.
Mobius, who oversees 34 billion USSD of developing- nation assets at Templeton Asset Management Ltd., was quoted by Bloomberg as saying: "We’re finding some very interesting opportunities in those markets". Still, liquidity may be an issue for some of the markets, he said.
According to Mobius, emerging markets are attracting more money to initial public offerings than developed nations for the first time, a warning sign that the record rally may turn into a 20 percent decline.
Mobius had predicted the gains as early as March 23, when he told Bloomberg Television that developing-nation equities are building the base for the next "bull-market" rally.
While the bull market will continue, it is ripe to be interrupted by a correction of 15 percent to 20 percent "or more", possibly triggered by increased initial public offerings or as governments reduce money supply, Mobius said on Jan. 7.
Any correction would offer investors an opportunity to resume stocks purchases at attractive prices, Mobius said.