We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Asian Stocks To Buy Now.In this article, we are going to take a look at where H World Group (NASDAQ:HTHT) stands against the other Asian stocks.
The Economy of Asia
Asia the world's largest and most populous continent has seen remarkable economic growth in recent decades. This surge in growth is fueled by various factors, including a rise in innovation and technological advancements across the region. Asia is also home to some of the most valuable and influential companies globally.
According to a report by the IMF, the Asian economies accounted for two-thirds of global growth in 2023. The region grew by 4.6% in 2023 and is forecasted to grow by 4.2% in 2024. The growth momentum is slowing in 2024, as the region faces challenges from China's structural slowdown and a weaker-than-expected economic recovery. China's economy rebounded in 2023 due to domestic demand and supportive measures such as monetary easing, tax reliefs, and fiscal spending. Nevertheless, growth is projected to slow to 4.6% in 2024 due to a struggling property sector and declining external demand. Looking further ahead, long-term growth is expected to decrease to 3.5% by 2028 due to weaker productivity and an aging population.
A Closer Look at Asia’s Economic Shifts and Trends
China's economy is facing challenges due to weak consumer spending amid economic issues such as a prolonged housing slump and high youth unemployment. Chinese tech firms are increasingly focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) as a potential new revenue stream. However, intense global competition limits the effectiveness of this approach. The Chinese government needs to implement policies that restore consumer confidence and boost spending. In the second quarter of 2023, foreign investors pulled nearly $15 billion out of China, due to the slowdown in economic growth and rising geopolitical tensions. The rapid shift towards electric vehicles in China has also caught some foreign car manufacturers off guard, leading them to scale back or withdraw their investments. China's balance of payments has turned negative. If this trend continues, it could result in the first annual net outflow of foreign investment since 1990. Despite efforts by the Chinese government to attract and retain foreign investment, such as lowering interest rates and encouraging the inflow of advanced technologies. Foreign direct investment into China during the first half of the year was the lowest since the pandemic began in 2020. Chinese companies have been increasing their outbound investments, particularly in projects such as electric vehicles and battery factories, sending a record $71 billion overseas in the second quarter of 2023, up more than 80% compared to the same period in the previous year.
Vivien Lin Thurston, a partner and portfolio manager at William Blair, noted that the earnings of major Chinese tech companies have been mixed due to the weak macroeconomic environment in China and intense competition within the e-commerce sector has led to market share losses. Thurston highlights sectors such as cosmetics, beauty, high-end manufacturing, and power equipment, which are benefiting from structural growth and overseas demand, have been more resilient to the current economic challenges. Furthermore, Thurston discusses the growing trend among Chinese companies to focus on shareholder returns through dividends and share buybacks, similar to Western companies. However, she cautions that this trend may also reflect a broader deflationary environment in China similar to Japan's economic stagnation in the 1980s and 2000s. Hubert Chak, the CEO of SF REIT, noted that while Hong Kong's property market has been relatively stable, the broader Chinese market continues to experience downward pressure on rental prices, particularly in logistics properties, with occupancy rates varying significantly across different regions.
India has delivered a robust economic performance, particularly in the January-March quarter of 2024, where the economy grew by 7.8% year-on-year, surpassing economists' expectations. This growth was primarily driven by strong manufacturing output, although it marked a slight deceleration from the previous quarter's 8.6% growth. Despite this, the growth exceeded the 6.7% forecast by economists in a Reuters poll. India's economic growth for the entire 2023/24 fiscal year was revised up to 8.2%, making it the highest among major global economies. In terms of sectoral performance, manufacturing showed an 8.9% year-on-year increase, while agricultural output grew by 0.6%. The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) recent record surplus transfer is expected to provide the government with more financial flexibility, either to increase spending or reduce the fiscal deficit. The RBI is likely to maintain its benchmark repo rate at 6.50% in its upcoming meeting, given inflationary pressures. S&P Global has raised India's sovereign rating outlook to "positive," expecting the economy to grow at 6.8% in the current fiscal year and nearly 7% annually over the next three years.
In the second quarter of 2024, Indonesia’s GDP grew by 5.05% year-on-year, slightly exceeding forecasts. This growth rate, while strong, marks a slight decline from the 5.11% expansion in the first quarter. On a quarterly basis, GDP increased by 3.79%, a faster pace than anticipated, highlighting the resilience of Southeast Asia's largest economy. Household spending grew by 4.93%, and public consumption increased by 1.42% last quarter compared to the significant 20% growth in the previous quarter due to pre-election spending. Investment growth accelerated to 4.43%, and exports showed signs of recovery as global trade rebounded. The steady economic performance provides the central bank with some flexibility to maintain current interest rates, focus on currency stability before potentially shifting to monetary easing later this year or in 2025.
In the second quarter of 2024, Japan reported a better-than-expected economic performance. Japan's GDP grew by 0.8% quarter-on-quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of a 0.5% increase. This marks a reversal from the 0.6% decline in the first quarter. On an annualized basis, the GDP expanded by 3.1%, also beating the forecasted 2.1% growth. However, Japan's GDP still fell on a year-on-year basis for the second consecutive quarter, declining by 0.8% after a 0.9% drop in the first quarter. Despite this, the positive quarterly growth led to a modest rise in Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index and the Topix index on August 14. The Japanese yen also strengthened slightly against the U.S. dollar. Jun Saito, a senior research fellow at the Japan Center for Economic Research, described the GDP results as "very positive" and suggested that this will encourage the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to continue raising interest rates. However, the overall growth for 2024 is expected to be modest due to the earlier contraction in the first quarter. Saito warned that a narrowing interest rate differential between Japan and the U.S.—where Japan is raising rates while the U.S. is cutting them—could strengthen the yen against the dollar, negatively impacting Japan's export value. He emphasized that the BOJ is likely to monitor market reactions closely as it continues its monetary tightening, aiming to make its monetary policy more flexible in the future.
Timothy Moe, Chief Asia Pacific Equity Strategist at Goldman Sachs, has an optimistic outlook for the APAC equity markets amid recent volatility. He believes that the recent concerns about U.S. economic growth and recession were somewhat exaggerated, and anticipates a 25 basis point rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September, as opposed to the 50 basis points previously expected by the market. Historically, when the Fed cuts rates without a recession occurring, markets tend to perform well in the subsequent months, which supports Moe's positive view of the APAC region. He advises maintaining investments in key markets such as Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, despite recent sell-offs, due to their strong earnings growth, particularly in sectors such as semiconductors. Regarding China, Moe points out its weaker performance relative to other APAC markets but notes its diversification benefits. He stresses the need for more policy support from Chinese authorities to boost domestic demand and economic growth. Moe is strategically positive on China’s A-shares due to their potential benefit from structural market developments but prefers offshore Chinese equities in the short term. Looking ahead, he forecasts a 12% earnings growth for the APAC region in 2025, slightly below consensus expectations.
As Asia continues to navigate the complexities of economic growth, the region remains a powerhouse on the global stage. The coming years will be critical in shaping the region's long-term economic trajectory. With that in context, let’s take a look at the 10 best Asian stocks to buy now.
Our Methodology
For this article, we used the Finviz screener to screen the largest Asian companies as of August 14. We compiled an initial list of 40 Asian companies and then narrowed our list to the 10 stocks that analysts see the most upside to. The list is sorted in ascending order of analysts’ average upside potential, as of August 14.
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A modern hotel standing tall with a well-lit lobby entrance.
H World Group (NASDAQ:HTHT), formerly known as Huazhu Group is a Chinese company that is known as one the largest players in the global hospitality industry. H World Group (NASDAQ:HTHT) operates the business under three main models: leased and owned, franchised and manachised hotels.
In the leased and owned Model, H World Group (NASDAQ:HTHT) directly manages hotels that it either owns or rents. The Franchise Model involves independent hotel owners running their hotels under the company’s brand and standards. Whereas the Manachise model is a blend of management and franchise, where H World Group (NASDAQ:HTHT) manages hotels owned by third parties by offering them management expertise, brand recognition, and operational support while sharing the revenue, earning franchise fees and royalties.
This diversified approach enables H World Group (NASDAQ:HTHT) to maintain a robust presence in the hotel industry, with significant growth potential while managing risk and capital expenditure effectively. The combination of these models allows the company to optimize revenue streams, enhance brand recognition, and increase market penetration with relatively lower investment compared to traditional hotel ownership. As of December 31, 2023, H World Group (NASDAQ:HTHT) had 9,263 hotels in operation, including 607 leased and owned hotels, and 8,656 Manachised and franchised hotels.
The company has seen a notable rebound in both leisure and business travel, leading to higher occupancy rates. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the occupancy rate for hotels rose to 80.5%, up from 66.2% in the same quarter the previous year. This positive trend continued into 2024, with the occupancy rate reaching 77.2% in the first quarter, compared to 75.6% in the previous year.
H World Group’s (NASDAQ:HTHT) Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) has also experienced significant growth, recovering to 122% of pre-pandemic levels in 2023. This recovery was driven by increased Average Daily Rates (ADR) and better occupancy rates. For the first quarter of 2024, the company reported a RevPAR of RMB 216, marking a 3.1% year-over-year increase.
H World Group (NASDAQ:HTHT) is a strong investment opportunity due to its hotel management models which allow for rapid expansion with lower capital investment, recovery in both leisure and business travel, increase in occupancy rates and revenue per available room (RevPAR). The stock is trading at $29.09 as of August 14. Analysts have a consensus on the stock’s Buy rating, setting an average price target of $49.51 which represents a 70.20% upside potential.
Overall HTHT ranks 2nd on our list of the best Asian stocks to buy. While we acknowledge the potential of HTHT as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than HTHT but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
