Tap in to China!

 

In 1995, the NASDAQ was trading around 1000. On 3/10/2000, it hit a peak of 5048. Such euphoria had not been seen since the railroad boom of the 1840s or the automobile boom of the 1920s. Now it is China’s turn.

 

Last quarter China grew at a brisk 8.9% rate thanks to the government’s aggressive stimulus. The following are 14 Chinese stocks that trade on U.S. exchanges and have dividends over 2%: 

 

 

I discussed the 1^st 6 stocks (CHL, SNP, CEO, GSH, PTR and YZC) in my Oct 13’s article.  The 8 new stocks are mainly in healthcare, telecom, and the utilities sectors.

 

New medical product development is both costly and labor-intensive and has a very low rate of successful commercialization. Companies that have to spend heavily on R&D have an inherent flaw in their competitive advantage that will always put their long-term economics at risk.

As a small cap, CMED’s operating results have fluctuated in the past and may continue to fluctuate significantly from time to time. I have followed this stock since summer 2007, when it appeared on the top 100 list of Investor’s Business Daily. The following is a comparison between CMED, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), and Alcon (ACL), the biggest medical instruments supplier by market cap:

 

 

As a result of acquisitions of the ECLIA, FISH, and SPR technologies, as well as BBE business, 59% of CMED’s total assets are intangible assets and goodwill.   Earnings could be adversely affected if the company chooses to recognize impairment losses. Nonetheless, with plenty of cash on hand, CMED might be benefit from the lucrative and profitable health care market in China.

 

NPD has 2700 drugstores providing pharmacy services. Its P/E is too high.

 

Competition is intensifying for China's major telecom operators as the government granted 3 third-generation mobile licenses. CHL experienced a slowdown in profit growth recently, while rival CHA’s net profit fell due to higher marketing costs to attract customers to its newly acquired cellular business.

China has increased its appetite for coal power. Barron’s projects that coal usage will increase 55% in the next 15 years. Variable coal spot prices, possible tariff adjustments, along with rising power production nationwide make HNP’s future uncertain. 

 

The following is HNP’s dividend history and comparison with top 2 U.S. electric utilities: Southern Company (SO) and Dominion Resources (D):

 

 

 

 

 

CHT is Taiwan's principal telecom service provider. Recently it announced a $1 million investment in mainland China. CHU’s new iPhone launch wasn't catching on with consumers as expected. TSM just reported big sequential gains in revenue and earnings. These latest results might be the beginning of a broader rally. 

 

The following is their annual dividend histories:

 

 

 

iShares.com’s data shows all 4 of these ETFs trailing P/E’s are over 20. As you can see from the chart below, over the last 12 months they have all moved in the same direction:

 

 

Both EWT and EWH offer higher dividends than FXI and EEM: 

 

 

China's export markets are tapped out. Its domestic consumption hasn't started to rise significantly. Yet the Shanghai stock market is trading at 30 times trailing P/E and 20 times forward earnings. According to Lawrence McDonald, author of A Colossal Failure of Common Sense, you can’t model human behavior with computer. When a high rolling market goes wrong, history tells us it happens with lightning speed, as everyone stampedes for the door at the same time. 

 

However, for long term income investors, the key is to find fundamentally sound blue- chips with low P/E’s and consistently paying solid dividends.  In addition to ADRs, foreign investors can invest in the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s B-shares or H-shares from the Hong Kong Exchange. They usually are traded at a discount to their A-share listings.

 

 

 

Disclosure: I have long position on CHL and EEM.  Data are from SEC Filings, iShares, Google and Yahoo Finance as of November 13, 2009.

 

To learn more about how you can invest in foreign stocks such as these, be sure to check out our investing and stock trading courses!