Telefonica attractive dueto its Latin American ties

The Spanish market has been the weakest European performer this year, according to Guillaume Rambour...

The Spanish market has been the weakest European performer this year, according to Guillaume Rambourg, European fund manager at Gartmore. He says: "This is very disappointing considering Spain's great performance in 1997, 1998 and 1999." In investing in the region, Gartmore focuses on telecommunications, utilities and banking sectors as these represent 80% of the Spanish index, Ibex. Rambourg has a 3% holding in Telefonica, despite predicting weak returns for the company in the short term. The telephone company has recently acquired some minor companies in Peru, Argentina and Brazil, ...