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In the swank dance clubs and coffee shops of hip districts in Seoul such as Chungdamdong and Hongdae, trendy 20-somethings in designer jeans gab with friends on $850 music players-cum-mobile phones, the latest must-have gadget for Korea’s A-listers and wannabes. While not all Koreans are as flush and idle, it's a sign of the times amid a solid economic recovery. Despite global uncertainty and a swoon in local stocks since last fall, exports are up, consumer spending on discretionary items is firm and the unemployment rate remains paltry—just 3.0% in May. So if now seems like a good time to invest in Korea’s stock market, you’re not alone. Foreign and domestic investors alike have gingerly begun to bid up the benchmark Kospi index from its early March lows. Some money managers in Seoul expect the equity market to match or exceed last year’s highs before 2008 is over. Min Soo Kim, a portfolio manager at PMA Investment Advisors Ltd., part of SPARX Group, discusses his outlook for the Korean economy and market.
Investing in Japan has long meant investing in the country's tried-and true automakers and home electronics exporters. But these brand name manufacturers are just a fraction of the more than 4,000 publicly listed Japanese companies. While Japan Inc.’s mainstay exporters are one way to play the market, some stock pickers in Tokyo are busy identifying the next generation of global companies. Lesser known Japanese firms now are expanding their overseas sales rapidly, but off of a much lower base. At the same time, they benefit from a perception for superior quality and cutting edge technology that have historically been associated with Japan’s auto and electronics exporters. Yet chances are you’ve never heard of these up-and-comers since many target emerging economies in Asia. “Until recently, most outperformers in the market were sort of old economy cyclicals,” says Masa Takeda, a Tokyo-based fund manager at SPARX Asset Management Co., a unit of SPARX Group Co., Ltd. “But we believe a lot of the good news for them is already in their stock prices. That’s why we’re focusing on what we see as the next wave of global blue chips.”
