Mobius dismisses fears Hungary faces Greek-style crisis

Franklin Templeton emerging markets guru Mark Mobius has dismissed concerns Hungary could face a similar debt spiral to stricken nation Greece.

Hungarian shares plummeted 23% in May amid concerns it faces the same scale of debt problems as Greece, a fear Mobius says is unfounded. Mobius says Hungary's debt to GDP ratio of 78.2% compares favourably to the 117% for Greece, while its public deficit of 4% last year was significantly lower than Greece's 14%. He adds Hungary has access to about €5bn of IMF support, enough to cover the $4bn of debt it must refinance by October. Mobius says Hungary's Government also runs a current account surplus and has $41bn of foreign currency reserves. "As a result of drastic spending cuts and...