The Romanian stock market is too small at the moment to attract large private companies, considers Dr. Mark Mobius, CEO of Franklin Templeton Emerging Markets Group. The lack of liquidity does not allow companies which want to raise equity through the stock market to do so, which causes them to resort to share capital increases and bank loans, he said. In order to overcome this obstacle, the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE) needs to become more active in attracting investors, according to Mark Mobius.
Franklin Templeton chose to invest in Romania due to its potential for growth. The main problem which the company has faced in Romania is that the government is very slow in implementing reforms, said Mark Mobius.
The conflict in the Gaza Strip, as well as the tensions between Iran and Israel, did not significantly affect the international financial markets, as the pressing problems are those that concern Europe, he said.
This year, Franklin Templeton launched the first fund dedicated to the African continent, which is betting on the growth of the banking sector, the food industry and telecommunications.
* Interview with Dr. Mark Mobius, CEO of Franklin Templeton Emerging Markets Group
Reporter: How does the recently concluded conflict between Israel and Hamas, as well as the tensions concerning Iran, the international financial markets?
Dr. Mark Mobius: I don't think that these events have seriously affected the markets. From the United States we had a lot of positive news concerning the extraction of oil using hydraulic fracking, and this generates an increase in the output over the short term, even though, in the long term, it does not solve the issue of the hydrocarbon resources. Also, in the Kurdish region of Iraq, the oil output is growing at a significant pace. Thus, the situation in the Gaza Strip has a limited impact on t
