Franklin Templeton’s MENA CIO explains why Egypt is attractive: The economic trajectory, valuations and the “undervalued” currency make Egypt have “one of the most attractive growth profiles in the MENA region,” Franklin Templeton Investments MENA equities chief investment officer, Bassel Khatoun, told Bloomberg TV. The EGP devaluation addressed a serious imbalance in the economy and Egypt has seen years of underinvestment and an ever-expanding population. Following 2003, Egypt had “five golden years” of economic growth, Khatoun says, “and we don’t see any reason we Egypt shouldn’t achieve those growth rates going forward.” Globally, it is difficult to discern whether US President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric will be translated to policy action, but for emerging markets, Khatoun says, 2017 will be a year of “differentiation and of divergence … some of the stronger economies will get stronger and some of the weaker economies may just show their vulnerabilities.” He adds that Middle Eastern markets are trading in line with emerging ones but offer a higher dividend yield and recommends a highly selective investment approach even within the region. Khatoun’s remarks on Egypt echo similar ones he made in December (runtime 04:07).

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