Stocks You Can't Afford to Miss

As my Fool colleague Rick Munarriz recently pointed out, China is on a roll. The country's middle class is growing faster than O.J.'s rap sheet, yielding hundreds of millions of people with extra spending money.

"Show me the Renminbi!"
Where will all of that cash be spent? Big businesses and investors are already jumping in to make a few suggestions:

• General Motors (NYSE: GM  ) just signed a deal to ship $800 million worth of Buick Enclave SUVs and auto parts to China over the next four years.
• Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Alsaud set aside an eye-popping $1 billion this summer to invest in the Chinese hotel industry.
• Computer giant Dell (Nasdaq: DELL  ) recently announced that it will start selling its computers through Gome, China's largest electronics chain.
• Even Delta Airlines (NYSE: DAL  ) put some cards on the table. The company just won rights to launch nonstop service between Atlanta and -- you guessed it -- China!

And the country's growth doesn't seem to be slowing down. According to a recent survey done on behalf of global asset manager Schroders, a majority of American investors believe that China will eclipse the United States as a global economic leader in the next 10 years. That's music to the ears of long-term investors.

Of course, you need to own some Chinese stocks to feel the full giddy effect. But while you're looking for the right ones, you should know that China isn't the only Asian country that holds a mine of rich investment opportunities.

Next stop ... the whole continent?
Er, well, maybe not the whole thing. But other countries in Asia are experiencing explosive economic growth similar to China's. Fool analyst Bill Mann recently wrote that "the continent is blessed with every kind of wealth imaginable, and much of its potential is just now being tapped.... This is the Asia century."

He's not alone in recognizing Asia's growing clout. Mark Mobius, managing director of Templeton Asset Management (and a guy who's been following emerging markets for more than a quarter-century) is also noticing. He recently told The Korea Times that "Asia is the largest emerging markets region in the world and home to some of the fastest-growing economies globally. In fact, more than 50% of the world's population lives in Asia, providing the region with a huge consumer base."

Yup, that's "more than 50%"! While it's horrifying to think about what that would look like on Black Friday, it sure makes for some amazing consumer spending. Behemoths like Nike (NYSE: NKE  ) , Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM  ) , and Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER  ) have already caught on, investing heavily in select regions of Asia.

But the local businesses may be even more intriguing -- Asian companies with established local brands and immediate access to these swelling masses of consumers. These companies stand to thrive tremendously over the next few years amid all these economic changes.

Riding Asia's growth wave
All that said, not every company in Asia is destined for profits, nor is every stock there a winner. Furthermore, buying into a foreign business requires extra homework: You need to know a thing or two about the country's economy, its culture, and the laws that determine how financial information is reported there, among other factors.

But that added effort is no reason to pass up substantial returns. If you don't have time to figure it all out yourself, you can still reap the rewards: Fool co-founder David Gardner and a team of top-notch analysts have handpicked five stocks in Asia that are poised to profit.

You'll find them all in a new report titled Asia Rising: 5 Pacific Rim Stocks You Can't Afford to Miss. Click here for all of the details.

Cindy Embleton was selling candlesticks at a yard sale when she suddenly ran into Colonel Mustard. She does not own shares of any company mentioned in this article. Dell is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor and Motley Fool Inside Value recommendation. Cindy suspects that Miss Peach shot the Fool's disclosure policy in the library.