Legendary emerging markets investor Mark Mobius, who oversees about $40 billion in emerging-market equities as executive chairman of Templeton Asset Management Ltd. in Singapore, spoke to Bloomberg yesterday from Ho Chi Minh City. From the interview:

BLOOMBERG: Why the slide in emerging markets? Is it overdone?
MOBIUS: I think it is. The market has come down a lot. In fact, in China, in the Asia market, it’s come down far more than that. So, we’ve seen a very, very big correction in many places around the world in emerging markets. And it seems to be overdone, but not necessarily over, because, you know, the sentiment is bad globally so that there’s a tendency for people to sell out, and stay out, until they see an about-face in the market.

Some notable excerpts from the interview included:

Commodities

I think that the demand for these commodities is going to continue at a pretty high level. Of course, much higher than there has been in the past, simply because of the demands from China, India, and these other countries that are growing at the paces I just mentioned. So I think it’s more of a correction, rather than a significant secular downturn in these markets and the commodity markets.

U.S. Dollar

BLOOMBERG: Would you not be particularly bullish on the dollar as well?
MOBIUS: No, I wouldn’t, given the propensity of the U.S. government to spend the way they’re spending and to have new ventures against Russia in Eastern Europe, and so forth and so on. I think, unless these policies change in a new administration, I don’t see how the U.S. dollar can keep at a strong level.

Russia

We’ve been, and have been increasingly comfortable, with our investments in Russia. We’ve made an awful lot of money in Russia, both on the private equity side as well as the public side. And, things are getting better in Russia. I think the situation that we’re seeing with Georgia is an anomaly… I think that this will blow over and Russia will continue to be a very important place for us to be putting our money.

Brazil

Brazil, of course, is at the top of the list in terms of weighting in our funds at this time… But generally speaking, the banks are doing very well, very profitable. Petrobras, Vale do Rio Doce, extremely profitable companies.

India

The Indian market, finally for us value investors, has become more interesting, because of the downturn you just mentioned. So some of these companies are beginning to look quite attractive— some of the pharma companies, some of the software companies, and even some of the commodity companies, because you know India, has iron ore and produces a lot of steel. So, we’re looking at that more carefully, and we think they are good opportunities at this stage of the game. We were quite underweight in India for a long time because of the valuations.

Vietnam

The economy is thriving, and things are moving ahead… and we’re pretty optimistic about the longer-term future of the country.

You can listen to the 14 minute 26 second interview here.

Source:

Mark Mobius Interview
Bloomberg, August 20, 2008

Emerging markets veteran Mark Mobius doesn’t think the recent selloff in commodities is the end of a boom which started back in 1999. Pratima Desai for Reuters UK wrote last week:

“When you have a long-term uptrend, excesses build up along the way. We are witnessing a correction,” said Mark Mobius, executive chairman at Templeton Asset Management.

“Demand for commodities will remain at a high level in countries like China and India. If we see a serious worldwide recession, then we will see the end of the commodities boom.”

In fact, Dr. Mobius believes commodities may just be the global economy’s “saving grace.” Reuters Kevin Plumberg said on August 15:

Mark Mobius, executive chairman of Templeton Asset Management Ltd, said he believes consumer demand in emerging markets will ultimately be one of the factors keeping the global economy out of recession. Mobius is a value investor who has long touted the inherent strength of emerging markets.

“What we like are the consumer plays. As much as possible we are trying to get exposure to consumer-oriented sectors, whether that is consumer banking or retail,” he said in a phone interview from Turkey.

In addition to China, Mobius, who oversees some $40 billion in assets, likes the technology sectors in Taiwan, India and Korea. His firm has also cut down on its exposure to the commodities sector while increasing holdings in consumer-oriented sectors in South Africa and Turkey, where he said interest rate rises have brought share prices down to attractive levels.

Levent Financial District
Istanbul, Turkey

Sources:

“Commodity rout a blip”
Pratima Desai
Reuters (UK), August 15, 2008

“RPT-ANALYSIS China and co stand between world and ‘recession’”
Kevin Plumberg
Reuters, August 15, 2008

According to the business news website Globes [online], George Soros recently bought shares in an Israeli technology company. Dan Shohet and Shiri Habib-Valdhorn wrote yesterday:

Network application solutions company Radware (Nasdaq: RDWR; TASE: RDWR) has disclosed a new party at interest, despite the dramatic plunge in its share price in recent months. The company notified the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last night that Soros Fund Management, owned by US financier George Soros, had become a party at interest in the company with a 5.6% holding.

Soros is investing in Radware after its share fell 45.4% since the beginning of the year, with the company posting steeper than expected losses and revenue way below the analysts’ estimates in both the first and second quarters. The company currently has $148.6 million in cash, or $7.50 per share, compared with yesterday’s closing price on Nasdaq of $8.40. Radware does not expect to return to operating profitability until the fourth quarter of the year, but with a share price that is almost the same as its cash per share rate, there are those who consider it a buying opportunity, or at least a defensive stock with little chance of falling further.

Source:

“George Soros builds stake in Israeli technology firm”
Dan Shohet, Shiri Habib-Valdhorn
Globes [online] (Israel), August 13, 2008

So much for Boone Pickens’ foray into technology. Yesterday, Verne Kopytoff of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the legendary energy investor dumped all his shares of Yahoo. Kopytoff wrote:

Billionaire investor T. Boone Pickens excoriated Yahoo’s management for failing to reach an agreement to sell all or part of the Web portal to Microsoft Corp.

Pickens, who bought 10 million Yahoo shares in May in hopes that an acquisition was imminent, said Monday that he got tired of waiting for a deal and sold his entire holdings at a loss.

“I think that Yahoo management was pathetic,” Pickens told The Chronicle’s editorial board.

Source:

“Pickens rips Yahoo management, says he dumped shares at a loss”
Verne Kopytoff
San Francisco Chronicle, July 29, 2008

Here’s an interesting story I came across this morning. Yesterday, Fortune’s Todd Woody wrote about legendary oilman T. Boone Pickens, Jr., who talked to the magazine’s staff about none other than— Yahoo. Woody wrote:

The billionaire oilman has bought 10 million Yahoo shares and is backing Carl Icahn’s bid to oust the Internet company’s board in the aftermath of the failed (so far) deal with Microsoft.

“I’m just coat-tailing Carl on that,” said Pickens, who celebrated his 80th birthday last Thursday. He said he had not discussed Yahoo with Icahn before buying up Yahoo stock. “I didn’t talk to Carl. Hell, I can’t even write an e-mail,” said Pickens.

“I’m not even sure what Yahoo does,” he added.

Blind faith? With a net worth of $14 billion, Icahn IS the 46th richest man in the world. Woody added:

According to Pickens, after Microsoft walked away from its $47.5 billion bid on May 3, he called his office and asked what Yahoo was trading for. “When they said around $21, I said buy 1 million shares but they misheard me and bought 10 million,” he said, pausing a beat before cracking a smile.

As Yahoo (YHOO) is trading a little over $27 a share this morning, Pickens can afford to smile…

Source:

“T. Boone Pickens on Yahoo”
Todd Woody
Fortune (on CNN Money), May 27, 2008

Yesterday, I came across a post by Aaron Task for Tech Ticker (Yahoo! Finance) that talked about the interest of legendary investors Warren Buffett and George Soros in healthcare technologies. Task wrote:

Aside from immense wealth, these two legendary investors have at least one other thing in common: Both are making big bets on healthcare technologies, specifically those involving vaccines, says James Altucher, managing director of Formula Capital and columnist for The FT and Street.com.

Altucher, who literally wrote the book on Buffett’s trading, says the “Oracle of Omaha” is actually more focused on demographics than classic valuation metrics, contrary to popular mythology. What Buffett and Soros both see is a world with aging populations in the developing world, greater demand for vaccines in the emerging markets, and the potential for pandemic diseases that threaten all of humanity.

Photo by Stefanie L., stock.xchng

Task, who interviewed Altucher for Tech Ticker, added:

Rather than fearing the worst-case scenarios, these billionaires are making big bets on them via investments in names like Glaxosmithkline, Sanofi-Aventis, Johnson & Johnson, MAP Pharmaceuticals, Savient Pharmaceuticals, and others.

The 4 minute 22 second video of the interview can be accessed through the Yahoo! Finance site here.

Source:

“Buffett, Soros: Betting on Biotech, ‘End of the World’ Plays”
Aaron Task
Yahoo! Finance (Tech Ticker), April 17, 2008

According to the FOX Business Network yesterday, legendary investor George Soros purchased shares of California-based Wind River Systems. FOX wrote:

Billionaire investor George Soros bought a 6.67% stake, equivalent to 5.8 million shares, in Wind River Systems (WIND), according to a regulatory filing. Wind River Systems is a device software optimization company based in Alameda, Calif.

The Associated Press, via the Houston Chronicle, added:

Soros’ investment company, Soros Fund Management LLC, reported the stake in a Schedule 13G filing, which indicates the investment is passive and the investor doesn’t intend to influence control of the company.

Sources:

“Stocks In Focus For Tuesday”
FOX Business Network, March 18, 2008

“Soros Takes Stake in Wind River Systems”
Associated Press, March 17, 2008