Thailand remains a stellar investment destination among emerging markets, with its bull run expected to continue because of the country's sound economic fundamentals, says veteran investor Mark Mobius.
Thailand is one of the emerging economies where GDP growth is expected to expand by 5-6% this year, driven by the government's mega-infrastructure investment projects, said Mr Mobius, who is executive chairman at Templeton Emerging Market Group.
"We have stayed here for more than 20 years because of fundamental stability, the unique monarchy, and a very creative society. The [other] reason is Thailand is a resource-rich country," he said, noting banking, consumer goods and tourism sectors are all expected to perform well.
Brazil, China and India are other emerging economies poised to record good economic growth, said Mr Mobius.
Emerging markets have outperformed their developed counterparts, with economic growth among these countries more than doubling that of developed economies, he said.
"We have seen a very, very good stock market performance and we think this will possibly continue, although [the markets] have reached an all-time high," said Mr Mobius.
Investors are usually optimistic during a stock market euphoria, but he thinks the bull run could continue this year.
Mr Mobius believes in the Thai economy's stable fundamentals.
"The question is when the [market] correction will come. [It is] probable [there will be a] 20-30% correction before another bull market [reappears]," said Mr Mobius.
He said no one can predict when the market correction will happen, but it will come along.
The history of emerging markets has shown bull markets normally last longer than bear markets, said Mr Mobius. Bull markets typically improve more in percentage terms than drops during bear markets.
He recommended buying stocks when the market slows down to benefit over the long term.
"Bear markets usually last about a year-and-a-half. For a bear market, it is good to buy when everybody is not ready to go back to the market," said Mr Mobius.
The Templeton Fund invests in nearly 70 countries, including frontier markets.
Frontier markets generating a 30% return last year included Vietnam and some African countries, he said.
There has been a recovery in commodities prices, with global oil prices doubling from a low a couple of years ago, said Mr Mobius. This will affect some countries that record big oil imports such as Brazil, Chile and South Africa.
One important risk to watch out for is interest rate normalisation, which could cause internet companies some pain if unprofitable companies cannot raise additional capital to conduct business after a rate hike, he said.
Regarding the ongoing flight to cryptocurrencies, Mr Mobius recommended investing in a company related to blockchain technology, but not cryptocurrencies themselves because there are inherent risks and no one can tell the actual value of these digital currencies.
Even with retirement on the horizon, he said he will continue to invest after leaving Templeton to take care of relatives and friends.
Before investing in emerging markets, one should study the investment information very closely and ask for analytical information on corporations and heads of governments, said Mr Mobius.