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The word “China” conjures up images of sprawling shoe factories in Guangzhou and the cacophony of construction in central Shanghai. It may also invoke headlines about the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing or ongoing protests in Tibet. But there’s another, quieter China 120 kilometers off the coast of the mainland that's arguably just as intriguing for investors. This alternate to the mainland boasts real gross domestic product growth near 7%, one of the highest GDP per capita ratios in Asia (after Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong) and world’s fourth-largest stockpile of foreign currency reserves. It also has an 80% global market share in notebook computers and makes over 40% of the world's flat-panel television displays. So who is this mystery economic powerhouse? Taiwan. Long overlooked by investors dazzled by mainland China, Taiwanese equity has become something of a wall flower among Asian markets. But some analysts say that Taiwan’s valuations indicate now may be the time for a second look. Indeed, its market is one of the few in Asia with positive returns so far this year. “After years of underperformance relative to other Asian markets, Taiwan looks well positioned to outperform both regionally and globally over the coming 2-3 years,” says Tytus Michalski, a Hong Kong-based analyst at , PMA Investment Advisors Ltd., part of the SPARX Group.
Springtime means baseball—the national pastime not only in the U.S. but also in Japan, where the season officially got underway on March 20. Japanese aces who have joined U.S. teams such as the New York Yankee’s Hideki Matsui and Seattle Mariner’s Ichiro Suzuki have gained fame as power hitters. Yet pro baseball in Japan tends to be a game of finesse where “small ball”—bunts, singles and doubles—dominates the play. Similarly, stock pickers in Japan say that while the country’s brand name auto and electronics exporters are well known overseas, it’s the unheralded Japanese smaller cap companies that can offer investors overlooked opportunities. Indeed, even as a strong yen is bruising many of Japan’s larger caps, Japanese small caps seem poised to improve their batting average thanks to some savvy squeeze plays, says Tad Fujimura, Head of Investment and Research at SPARX Asset Management Co. Ltd.
