Franklin Templeton Eyes Banking, Pharmaceutical And Medical Sectors

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 (Bernama) -- A global investment firm, Franklin Templeton Investments, is looking at increasing its investments in the banking, pharmaceutical and medical stocks in Malaysia. Dr Mark Mobius, executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group, said the banking sector, which was more diversified and less volatile, reflected the growth of the country. Speaking to reporters after giving a presentation on investment hosted by MIDF Research, he said the pharmaceutical and medical sector was expected to be high-growth industry here and other parts of the world. He said Bursa Malaysia's outlook looked good. "Templeton likes high-yielding stocks. Our research around the world on what stocks to buy showed that companies that pay high dividends tended to perform well," he said. Mobius also commended the recent government's effort to open up the market and integrate with other Asean countries like with Singapore recently. "Anything that the government does to improve relations with neighbours are going to be positive. "We must free up the market and monitor labour movement," he said. Bursa Malaysia is Malaysia's Stock Exhange. --BERNAMA