Asia's Best Emerging Market Banks for 2009

In an earlier article, I wrote about the The Best Emerging Market Banks in Latin America for 2009. In this post, the best emerging market banks in Asia are listed:

Country	Bank
Armenia	HSBC Armenia
Azerbaijan	International Bank of Azerbaijan
Bangladesh	Janata Bank
China	ICBC
Georgia	Bank of Georgia
India	HDFC Bank
Indonesia	PT Bank Central Asia
Kazakhstan	Kazkommertsbank
Kyrgyzstan	Asia Universal Bank
Macau	Seng Heng Bank
Malaysia	Public Bank Berhad
Mongolia	Khan Bank
Pakistan	Habib Bank
Philippines	Bank of the Philippine Islands
South Korea	Shinhan Bank
Sri Lanka	Commercial Bank of Ceylon
Taiwan	Chinatrust Commercial Bank
Thailand	Siam Commercial Bank
Uzbekistan	Credit-Standard Bank
Vietnam	Asia Commercial Bank

Of those listed, Shinhan Financial Group (SHG) of South Korea and HDFC Bank (HDB) of India trade on the New York Stock Exchange. Shinhan does not pay a regular dividend. As per a recent Marketwatch article, though many Korean banks have rallied in the past few weeks, bad loans and lower profit margins may drag them lower in the future. India’s HDFC bank (HDB) is expensive with a P/E ratio of 31.29. HDB has a dividend yield of just 0.54%. The latest earnings report showed a rise in profits but provisions for non-performing assets are also increasing. HDB is not a good buy at these levels.

Comments

[Mad Hedge Fund Trader]

Check out Vietnam. If you think that the place where China does its offshoring would be a great investment, you’d be right. Vietnam has been one of the top performing stock markets this year, its index rising by an amazing 85%. It was a real basket case last year, when zero growth and a 25% inflation rate took it down 78% from 1,160 to 250. This is definitely your E-ticket ride. Vietnam is a classic emerging market play with a turbocharger. It offers lower labor costs than China, a growing middle class, and has been the target of large scale foreign direct investment. General Electric (GE) recently built a wind turbine factory there. You always want to follow the big, smart money. Its new membership in the World Trade Organization is definitely going to be a help. Remember what happened when China joined the WTO? Until now, the only way to get involved with this country was to go through the tedious process of opening a local currency brokerage account, or buy a region sub emerging market ETF. But now there is a vehicle to get in and out of this ultra emerging market easily, through the London listed Vietnam Opportunities Fund (VOF.LN), run by Vena Capital Management. I still set off metal detectors and my scars itch at night when the weather is turning, thanks to my last encounter with the Vietnamese, so it is with some trepidation that I revisit this enigmatic country. Throw this one into the hopper of ten year long plays you only buy on big dips, and go there on vacation in the meantime.

2009 Jun 15 11:00 AM