Amid the subprime sturm und drang, George Soros reckons losses could easily top $1 trillion. But after just $245 billion of reported bank and brokerage losses, Templeton Asset Management Ltd.'s Mark Mobius says he thinks the credit-market crisis is ``near the end.'' Who’s right – and just how much money are they staking on it?

The fund manager, who oversees $47 billion in emerging- market equities, said he has been buying shares of banks including Bank of China Ltd. and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. Malaysian equities are also becoming ``more and more attractive,'' he said in a Bloomberg Television interview today.

The MSCI World Index has gained 8.3 percent since closing at a 17-month low on March 17 on speculation that losses tied to subprime mortgage investments will be contained. Mobius joins the chief executives of JPMorgan Chase & Co., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in predicting that the worst of the credit crisis has passed.

``Most of the bad news is already in the market,'' Mobius, 71, said. ``The writedowns are coming in fast and furious.''

Energy stocks are his biggest investment because of rising oil prices, he said. He also added shares of Sweden's Oriflame Cosmetics SA to his holdings recently.

His $376 million Templeton Emerging Markets Fund gained 15 percent in the 12 months through yesterday, compared with a 19 percent advance by the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.

Shares of Bank of China, the country's third-biggest bank, fell as much as 22 percent this year in Hong Kong and are valued at 12 times estimated earnings. That's lower than the MSCI Emerging Markets Financial Index's 12.6 times. Industrial & Commercial Bank, the nation's biggest lender, dropped as much as 21 percent in 2008 in Hong Kong.

``We've been adding in the banking sector generally,'' Mobius said. ``Prices have come down to more reasonable levels.''

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