I think i fixed it
signup.html
<ion-item>
<ion-icon item-start name="phone-portrait"></ion-icon>
<ion-select item-left [(ngModel)]="account.code" name="countrycode" [selectedText]="account.code" [selectOptions]="{title:'Select Your Country'}">
<ion-option *ngFor="let country of countries" [value]="country.code">{{country.name}} {{country.code}}</ion-option>
</ion-select>
<ion-input item-end type="text" [(ngModel)]="account.number" name="number"></ion-input>
</ion-item>
we add [selectedText] to the ion-select not the ion-options. In the ion-select we dont have access to the country object, so we use account.code instead. This displays the selected ngmodel value which is the account code.