When the financial crisis first hit, every market around the globe felt the impact. Look at a five-year chart of any major global index and you’ll see huge losses from mid-2008 to early 2009. However, not every part of the world has recovered in the same way. In fact, the United States has been one of the slowest countries to rebound from the recession, while emerging countries have shown the greatest resiliency
In the wake of the recession, a new economic pecking order will emerge and certain countries will become oases for investors. At the top of this list are places like Latin America, Asia, India and even Europe! Let’s take a look at three key areas now and my favorite stocks in these regions:
Europe Stock – ARM Holdings (ARMH)
The euro zone has seen its share of volatility in recent months. But while I like a few Europe stocks at the bottom, my favorite European investment right now is actually one that’s based in the U.K. and therefore doesn’t have to mess around with the euro mess.
In Europe, I like ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH), based in Britain. ARM Holdings PLC develops and licenses microprocessors that allow several tasks to be processed simultaneously. More than 200 chip makers, including Intel, Samsung Electronics, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments and Toshiba Semiconductor, license ARM’s intellectual property designs to make their own processors that are used in products such as digital TVs, handheld computers, mobile phones and set-top boxes. More than 80% of ARM’s sales come from outside of Europe. This is a British company, but it truly has a global presence.
Asia Stock – Jingwei (JNGW)
China is the driving force in Asia and, as of last week, has officially become the second-largest economy in the world, ousting Japan. This latest jump comes after China already leapfrogged Britain and France in 2005 and Germany in 2007. Chinese manufacturing figures were a bit deceptive this month but when you get into the details you quickly realize that the news wasn’t negative. The manufacturing figure for July was 51.2, below 52.1 in June, but any number above 50 is indicative of growth. The figure shows that China continues to be the major worldwide economic engine – and an emerging superpower when it comes to technology.
Jingwei International Inc. (NASDAQ: JNGW) is a software company in China that develops a number of different products, including business support systems, provisioning solutions and decision support and customer relationship management systems. The company also operates a data mining service in the form of a large database containing personal information on more than 400 million Chinese consumers that it offers to companies. Tech companies are hot right now and JNGW is among the hottest, posting nearly 30% gains in the last 9 weeks. This is a thinly-traded stock, though, so if you can’t stomach swings or can’t buy and sell with tight limit orders, this play may not be for you.
India is another up-and-coming market that shows particular strength in high-tech industries. The Indian economy is modernizing rapidly and the country is developing a well-educated workforce and a permissive corporate environment. This explains why a number of foreign companies have decided to relocate their business operations to India. Currently, the country lags behind China but experts predict it will eclipse its eastern neighbor in the years ahead. This will present a number of strong buying opportunities to international investors as foreign capital floods into the country.
Latin America Stock – BanColombia (CIB)
There are two major trends pushing growth across Latin America–commodities and demographics. Commodities are priced in U.S. dollars and when the dollar is weak, commodity prices go up. This, coupled with higher demand for commodities is providing a major currency tailwind for companies in Latin America.
But since commodity stocks are notoriously volatile, my favorite Latin American stock is instead a financial stock. I have recommended against buying U.S and other financial companies since before the financial crisis, but because of the growth in Latin America right now, banks in that region are looking very strong as they lend to booming businesses and a more affluent population. One of my favorites is BanColombia S.A. ADS. (NYSE:CIB), the largest bank in Colombia, which serves more than 6.4 million customers. In addition, its Banagricola division operates 100 branches in El Salvador. BanColombia provides traditional commercial and retail banking services, including deposit accounts, loans and mortgages and credit and debit cards, as well as brokerage services. The stock is up about 70% in the last 12 months and is in the right spot at the right time for significant profits.
As of this writing, Louis Navellier was recommending all three of these stocks to subscribers of his Global Growth investment newsletter.
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