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Technology Stocks : Softbank Group Corp -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TobagoJack who wrote (5347)	7/3/2000 5:13:19 AM
From: Hans U. Tschanz	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6018

From Forbes June 30, 2000 All Bets On Asia By Lynn Sherman CHICAGO. 4:30 PM EDT-Change is usually accompanied by pain, and Asia is no exception. Professionals investing in the region say the tremendous economic turmoil that Asia went through in 1997 and 1998 has fostered a mood of greater openness there, which is encouraging foreign investors again. "Skepticism on Asia is understandable but wrong," says Nick Edwards, a managing director of Credit Suisse Asset Management. "You have to separate the economy from the stock market." Edwards, a Japan specialist, told attendees at a Morningstar mutual fund conference today that he thinks Japan's economy is about to turn a corner. He says restructuring has increased Japanese corporate profits, industrial production is accelerating, and the country's gross domestic product is on the rise. He notes that nonfinancial corporate profits are above their previous peak from 1999. Edwards predicts these economic improvements will result in higher wages and a rebound in consumption, ushering in a new Japanese bull market. This would be welcome relief after a decade-long recession in that country, which drives the regional economy. Mark Headley, of Mathews International Funds, sees tremendous improvement in technology manufacturers in Korea and Taiwan. He points to chipmaker VIA Technologies of Taiwan as an example of a company that is making strides. Headley has eyed Asia for a long time. He was an original member of the team that launched the first U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission-registered open-ended Asia ex-Japan fund in 1989. Edwards doesn't believe there are a lot of great companies in China--a country he describes as having one foot in the 21st century and 800 million peasants living in the 12th century. One exception, however, is Sina.com (nasdaq: SINA), the largest Internet portal in China, which he describes as "having the potential to be the Yahoo! of China" because of its good backing, management and government connections. But Edwards is concerned the company's Nasdaq listing is structured so only the company's holdings outside of China are tracked on the over-the-counter exchange. Edwards is also bullish on Japan-based Softbank (otc: SFTBF), which he describes as the world's most diversified holding company investing in the Internet with stakes in more than 400 companies including its largest in Yahoo! (nasdaq: YHOO). "Softbank is one of our larger holdings and we are ongoing buyers," he says. "It is the poster child of Japan's new economy." Edwards says Softbank must be valued as an investment company with a premium being added to its pre- and post-tax net asset value. He calls Boston-based CMGI (nasdaq: CMGI)--which operates in the same space--as "hugely inferior" in the Asian arena. On the investing side, Headly notes that investing in funds targeting individual countries rather than regions can pose unique risks. "Owning a Korea and China fund is more like buying a stock than a fund," says Headly, because of the relatively poor liquidity. What does a single country fund do when it isn't positive on the country in which it is invested? "Emphasize value at all costs," Edwards