Lenders should cut Greece some slack, investment guru says Laura Mandaro/MarketWatchMark Mobius, executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group, likes Greece LONDON (MarketWatch) — Looking for a great bet in the stock market? Look no further than Greece — yes, Greece — to boost your portfolio, says Mark Mobius. The country’s stock market has been slammed hard of late by ongoing fears of a “Grexit” — that the country will leave the euro — and an impasse in its reform negotiations with international creditors. But that only makes its equities an excellent buying opportunity, the investment guru and emerging-market super-bull told Greek daily Naftemporiki during a visit to Athens. “Greece will remain in the eurozone. There is no question,” Mobius said in the interview published on Tuesday. “The stock market is cheap, and we are buyers.” In particular, the country’s banking sector would be a win, given valuations that are “particularly attractive to us,” he said. His company, Franklin Templeton Investments, has already made a bet on National Bank of Greece ETE, -0.91%which saw its shares rise 2.7% on Tuesday. The Athex Composite Index GD, -0.82% jumped 0.8% to 779.22 on Tuesday, a sharp contrast to the rest of Europe where most major benchmarks were mired in the red. For the quarter, however, the Greek index is down 5.7%, a far cry from the 16% logged by the pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index SXXP, +0.48% or the 22% seen in Germany DAX, +0.76% The Greek underperformance is largely due to the political whirlwind that’s been engulfing the country since anti-austerity party Syriza took over government after the January general election. Athens agreed to a four-month bailout extension with the country’s international creditors in February, but the two sides are still negotiating important details to the deal. The lenders want to see — and approve — a list of economic overhauls before they release the next tranche of financial aid, while the Alexis Tsipras-led government is arguing it needs greater leniency over its bailout terms. Greece is at risk of running out of cash in April unless it receives more bailout money. But the lenders — the European Central Bank, the EU and the International Monetary Fund — should cut Greece some slack, Mobius said in the interview. “I believe [...] that continued cost-cutting will not help Greece recover from its current state. What is needed, in my opinion, is more investment,” he said. “I think the emphasis on renegotiating the strict conditions imposed on the country will be positive, as it will stimulate optimism. However, the ability of Greece to renegotiate the debt and repayment terms of the institutions will be very challenging,” he added. And indeed, it has been challenging. After several attempts, Greece has so far failed to come up with a satisfying proposal, and on Tuesday, the ongoing bailoutnegotiations ended without a deal on revised reforms, according to Reuters. Talks should pick up next week, a Greek official said.