The Top-Rated Asian Stocks

On the back of a 110% gain in 2006, China's Shanghai Exchange is up another 137% this year! Similarly, India's Bombay Exchange has had a nice run since January, gaining 25%.

Investors the world over have to be wondering whether this type of outsized growth is sustainable. Nowhere perhaps is the debate more lively than on Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's investing community, where more than 60,000 investors rate their favorite (and least favorite) stocks.

Surprisingly, this month there wasn't a single Asian stock among the top 50 stocks as rated by CAPS investors. Back in December, Aluminum Corp. of China (NYSE:ACH) held the No. 1 spot and has since surged 150%. Aluminum Corp. still retains its five-star CAPS rating, but a few brave bears have recently reared their heads, dropping the stock a bit in the overall rankings.

Moving westward?
While Asian stocks are still generally favored by CAPS investors, stocks from other regions, like Europe, Canada, and South America, have become more prevalent in the top 50. It seems like investor sentiment may be shifting westward for now, but the growth potential in Asia is too great to simply ignore.

Without further ado, here are the top 10 Asian stocks according to CAPS:

Please bear in mind that these stocks are not formal recommendations but are offered as jumping-off points for further research.

Fueling China's growth
Motley Fool Rule Breakers pick Huaneng Power sits atop the Asian stock universe this month, with 346 of 349 CAPS investors voting it to outperform the market.

Now, perhaps some of the bullish sentiment for Huaneng Power is due to its being a Motley Fool newsletter recommendation, but surely the stock's being up 76% over the past year and paying a 3% dividend don't hurt, either.

The bullish arguments for Huaneng Power center on its oddly low valuation for a Chinese stock -- its price-to-earnings ratio of 15.6 is lower than American utilities like FPL (NYSE:FPL) and Dominion Resources (NYSE:D). Another major bullish point is Huaneng's participation in a multinational commission to build the world's first completely clean-burning coal plant. If Huaneng can secure first-mover status in clean-burning coal technology in China, the potential rewards are huge.   

The bears' platform has yet to be fully laid out on CAPS, but there has to be concern about the possibility that the Chinese government will interfere with Huaneng's margins and pricing in the future.

What do you think? The tens of thousands of investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS are waiting to hear what you have to say about the stocks you follow. To make your voice heard, click here to register for CAPS. It's 100% free, and don't let the top players intimidate you. There's room for everyone.

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Fool contributor Todd Wenning is ranked 608 out of more than 60,000 CAPS investors. He does not own shares of any company mentioned in this article. The Fool has a disclosure policy.