European companies gain from China's rise
November 17, 2003
By Bloomberg
European companies such as BHP Billiton and HSBC Holdings are benefiting from China's economic expansion and some investors are betting they will be stock market leaders as a result.
Patrick Casselman, who helps oversee about $98 billion at KBC Asset Management, Belgium's biggest money manager, said: "I'm buying shares of companies with business in China.
"It's a huge growth story and will be for years to come."
Investors such as Casselman expect China, the world's fastest-growing economy, to become an increasing influence on the value of European shares as its trade with the European Union swells.
This month Morgan Stanley published a report listing the 50 European companies that get the greatest percentage of their revenue from China. About three-fifths have risen by more than 20 percent this year, while the benchmark Dow Jones Stoxx 50 Index has gained 7.6 percent.
BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining firm, made the list with firms such as Alcatel, Ericsson, Siemens and Volkswagen. HSBC, the world's second-biggest bank by market value, owns Hong Kong's two biggest lenders.
China's growth has also meant more business for shippers such as A Moeller-Maersk, the world's biggest container- shipping company, and Frontline.
Casselman said he had been buying shares of Icos Vision Systems, a Belgian maker of semiconductor-testing equipment that has surged 81 percent this year.
The company has offices in mainland China and Hong Kong.
Its biggest market is Taiwan.
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