Best China Companies To Buy For 2014

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- The dollar jumped against the Australian dollar on Thursday, after the preliminary reading of China�� manufacturing data from HSBC disappointed investors and sent most Asian equities into dive, while the euro advanced ahead of upcoming Eurozone flash PMI reports.

Earlier in the day, the HSBC/Markit ��lash��version of its monthly China�� Purchasing Mangers��Index (PMI) fell to the lowest level in seven months -- to 48.3 in February.

The results dragged most Asian stocks into the red, as Hong Kong�� Hang Seng Index (HK:HSI) � fell 1.2%, South Korea�� KOSPI index (KR:SEU) � lost 0.6%, and China�� Shanghai Composite (CN:SHCOMP) � dropped 0.2%.

Top Growth Companies To Watch In Right Now: China Lodging Group Limited (HTHT)

China Lodging Group, Limited, together with its subsidiaries, develops, operates, and manages a chain of hotels in the People?s Republic of China. It operates HanTing Express Hotel that targets knowledge workers and value-conscious travelers; HanTing Seasons Hotel, which targets mid-level corporate managers and owners of small and medium enterprises; and HanTing Hi Inn for budget-constrained travelers. As of March 31, 2011, the company had 473 hotels consisting of 259 leased-and-operated hotels and 214 franchised-and-managed hotels; and 162 hotels under development, including 74 leased-and-operated hotels and 88 franchised-and-managed hotels. China Lodging Group, Limited was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on China Lodging Group (Nasdaq: HTHT  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on China Lodging Group (Nasdaq: HTHT  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Best China Companies To Buy For 2014: Suntech Power Holdings Co. LTD.(STP)

Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd., a solar energy company, engages in the design, development, manufacture, and marketing of photovoltaic (PV) products. The company also provides engineering, procurement, and construction services to building solar power systems for certain related party and third party customers. Its products include monocrystalline and multicrystalline silicon PV cells; PV modules; and building-integrated photovoltaics products. In addition, the company provides PV system integration services, including designing, installing, and testing PV systems used in lighting for outdoor urban public facilities, as well as in farms, villages, and commercial buildings; and project development services. Its products are used to provide electric power for residential, commercial, industrial, and public utility applications. The company sells its products through value-added resellers, such as distributors and system integrators; and to end users, such as project develo pers primarily in Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Benelux, Greece, the United States, Canada, China, the Middle East, Australia, and Japan. Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. is headquartered in Wuxi, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  Is Suntech still alive?
  Rumors swirled this week that Suntech Power (NYSE: STP  ) would be acquired by Warren Buffett's subsidiary MidAmerican Energy. Suntech has defaulted on U.S. loans, and its Chinese operations are in insolvency, so it's unknown exactly what Buffett would be buying. Then there's the fact that Suntech doesn't meet any of Buffett's normal investing rules, so there are few industry observers who think an acquisition would go through.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  China won't let its solar industry die without a fight. After handing billions of dollars to manufacturers, including LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK  ) , Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE  ) , Suntech Power (NYSE: STP  ) , to build capacity they are now generating demand domestically to soak up unsold panels.

Best China Companies To Buy For 2014: iSoftStone Holdings Limited(ISS)

iSoftStone Holdings Limited provides various information technology (IT) services and solutions in the Greater China and internationally. It offers an integrated suite of IT services and solutions, including consulting and solution services, IT services, and business process outsourcing (BPO) services. The company provides a range of consulting services for an overall engagement or discrete consulting services in conjunction with other services. It also develops industry-specific solutions, including treasury management, cash management, property and casualty insurance core, financial holding company business analysis, trust company core, and banking risk management solutions for banking, financial services, and insurance industries; supply chain management, enterprise information portals, business intelligence, business process integration, and management and e-commerce solutions for energy, transportation, and public sectors; mobile and embedded technology, next generati on platforms, business intelligence functionality, and network security products for the communications industry. In addition, the company offers various IT services consisting of application development and maintenance, research and development, and infrastructure and software services. Further, it provides a range of BPO services, such as securities trade processing services for the investment banking industry; digitization and archiving of policyholder information, as well as account processing and customer service for insurance industry; and cross-industry BPO services comprising finance and accounting, customer care, and human resources. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  iSoftStone Holdings (NYSE: ISS  ) reported earnings on May 17. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), iSoftStone Holdings beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Best China Companies To Buy For 2014: Baidu Inc.(BIDU)

Baidu, Inc. provides Chinese and Japanese language Internet search services. Its search services enable users to find relevant information online, including Web pages, news, images, multimedia files, and blogs through the links provided on its Websites. The company also offers online community-based products and entertainment platforms; an instant messaging service; and a consumer-oriented e-commerce platform. In addition, it designs and delivers online marketing services and auction-based P4P services that enable its customers to reach users who search for information related to their products or services. The company serves online marketing customers consisting of small and medium sized enterprises, large domestic corporations, and Chinese divisions or subsidiaries of multinational corporations primarily operating in the medical, machinery, education, franchising, electronic products, e-commerce, ticketing, tourism, information technology, consumer products, real estate, entertainment, and financial services industries. It sells its online marketing services directly, as well as through its distribution network. The company was formerly known as Baidu.com, Inc. and changed its name to Baidu, Inc. in December 2008. Baidu, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  It's been a rough 12 months for Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU  ) investors, and the same can be said about CEO Robin Li's reputation.

  Forbes is out with its annual list of China's top CEOs. Li topped the list last year. This time around he is falling all the way to 40.

• [By Daniel Sparks]

  With every uptick of the S&P 500, it's getting more difficult to find undervalued stocks to buy. Nevertheless, a few great businesses have been left behind amid the market's surge, particularly Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) and Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU  ) . Though both companies are definitely facing turbulence, a contrarian look reveals two excellent market leaders up for grabs at bargain prices.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU), the Google of China, has dropped nearly $10 in the past two days. Shares were trading at $165.61 early Friday, and the 52-week range is $82.98 to $185.50. Early volume was already about one-third of the daily average of 3.7 million shares.

• [By Rich Smith]

  Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU  ) -- the so-called "Google of China" --� announced today that it has agreed to pay $160 million cash to purchase a 59% interest in the Groupon-like Nuomi Holdings subsidiary of Chinese social networking company Renren (NYSE: RENN  ) .

Best China Companies To Buy For 2014: China Automotive Systems Inc.(CAAS)

China Automotive Systems, Inc., through its interests in Sino-foreign joint ventures, engages in the manufacture and sale of power steering systems and other component parts for the automotive industry in the People?s Republic of China. It offers a range of steering system parts for passenger automobiles and commercial vehicles. The company provides 4 separate series, 307 models of power steering, including rack and pinion power steering, integral power steering, electronic power steering and manual steering, steering columns, steering oil pumps, and steering hoses. China Automotive Systems, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Jing Zhou City, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Richard Schmidt]

  We admittedly bought into China Automotive Systems (CAAS) too soon. The stock is still down from our original recommendation price, but the future looks very bright.

Best China Companies To Buy For 2014: Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd.(QIHU)

Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. provides Internet and mobile security products in the People's Republic of China. Its principal products include 360 Safe Guard, an Internet security product for Internet security and system optimization; 360 Anti-Virus, an anti-virus application to protect users? computers against trojan horses, viruses, worms, adware, and other forms of malware; and 360 Mobile Safe, a security program for the Google Android, Apple iOS, and Nokia Symbian smartphone operating systems. The company?s platform products comprise 360 Safe Browser, a Web browser; 360 Personal Start-up Page, a default homepage of 360 Safe Browser and a key access point to popular and preferred information and applications; 360 Application Store, a key access point to securely obtain and manage software and applications; and 360 Safebox, a solution that protects users against thefts of personal account information. It also provides online advertising services, including online marketi ng services and search referral services; and Internet value-added services comprising the operation of Web games developed by third-parties, remote technical support, and cloud-based services. The company was formerly known as Qihoo Technology Company Limited and changed its name to Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. in December 2010. Qihoo 360 Technology Co. was founded in 2005 and is based in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Kevin Chen]

  I don't like Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU  ) , but I do realize when a company is here to stay.

  If you've followed Qihoo over the past year, you may have heard how it seems to be more of a marketing company with inferior products rather than a serious tech competitor. Well, once you read its most recent earnings report, you may change your mind like I did. The fact is, Qihoo seems to be making profitable strides in the search market.

• [By Adam Levy]

  Chinese Internet stocks have taken a beating over the last couple months. Shares of Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU  ) and Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU  ) have fallen about 14% and 30% from their 52-week highs, respectively. At these prices, both stocks appear attractive.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  However, this acquisition will be a game changer for Baidu. At a time when Baidu stock is being dogged by pesky search rival Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU  ) and fears that it's not doing enough as desktop usage migrates to mobile computing, 91 Wireless operates a pair of leading smartphone app distribution platforms in China. A whopping 10 billion apps have been downloaded through the 91 Wireless marketplaces.