East Asian companies beating index

AIM-listed ventures with operations in Asia have not only outperformed their counterparts on the junior market, but have also beaten the FTSE SmallCap index over a three-year period

Research from Business XL’s sister publication Growth Company Investor reveals that the mean share price performance of AIM’s 147 companies operating in East and South-East Asia shows a decline of 1.8 per cent, compared with 27 per cent for the AIM AllShare and 8.2 per cent for the FTSE SmallCap over the three years from September 2005 to September 2008.

The best-performing ventures are South-East Asian gold miner Avocet, Hong Kong-based biometrics technology developer RCG, and Chinese solar power specialist ReneSola. All three companies have returned growth in excess of 500 per cent since flotation (see table).

Some £2.9 billion has been raised to date by the 147 East and South-East Asian companies, with the bulk of the money (£1.7 billion) going to 72 ventures with operations in China.

Eastern expansion
The research reveals that the companies with fastest-growing sales are overwhelmingly converged on Chinese opportunities, with seven of the top ten fastest-growing companies focused on the nation. These include ventures such as online travel company ET-China.com, which grew sales from £2.4 million to £104.9 million last year, and UK-based automotive component developer Antonov, which increased turnover from £10,000 to £770,000.

To order the full report, East and South-East Asia on AIM 2008, call 020 7250 7056 or email calvin.green@vitessemedia.co.uk