Goldman
Sachs
has
refreshed
its
conviction
list
of
top
stocks
in
Asia
Pacific
this
month,
adding
some
names
and
removing
others.
The
bank
remains
optimistic
on
the
region,
noting
that
it
has
a
solid
outlook
this
quarter.
“Five
factors
are
likely
to
influence
Asian
market
performance
in
2Q:
the
start
of
a
rate
cutting
cycle,
led
by
the
Fed;
elections
and
geopolitics;
1Q
earnings
results;
market-specific
policy;
and
(less
fundamentally,
but
notably)
seasonality,”
the
investment
bank’s
analysts
wrote
in
an
April
7
note.
Looking
ahead,
they
expect
the
the
MSCI
Asia
Pacific
ex-Japan
index
(MXAPJ)
to
post
earnings
growth
of
15%
and
11%
in
2024
and
2025
respectively.
Key
trading
themes
on
their
radar
include
secure
shareholder
returns,
policy-easing
beneficiaries
as
well
as
opportunities
among
artificial
intelligence
and
defense
stocks.
Here
are
two
additions
to
Goldman
Sachs’
Asian
conviction
list,
and
two
removals:
China
Resources
Beer
Goldman
analyst
Leaf
Liu
said
he
was
positive
on
the
outlook
for
Chinese
beer
manufacturer
and
distributor
China
Resources
Beer
.
Brands
it
owns
or
has
a
stake
in
include
Blue
Sword,
Green
Leaves,
New
Three
Star,
Tianjin
and
Heineken
.
“Despite
multiple
headwinds
of
weak
macro,
consumption
downgrade
and
the
deflationary
environment
in
China,
CRB
has
delivered
relatively
resilient
EPS
[earnings
per
share]
growth,
driven
by
solid
progress
in
premiumization,”
the
analyst
wrote.
He
believes
the
brewer’s
“risk/reward
is
increasingly
attractive”
and
expects
the
company
to
“gain
the
most
incremental
market
share
amongst
the
peer
group
in
the
premium
beer
segment.”
Shares
in
China
Resource
Beer
are
down
around
45%
in
the
last
12
months.
Goldman
Sachs
has
a
12-month
price
target
of
51
Hong
Kong
dollars
($6.51)
on
the
stock,
giving
it
potential
upside
of
around
46%.
Shares
in
the
life
insurer
are
traded
in
the
KraneShares
MSCI
All
China
Index
ETF
(0.4%
weight)
and
Franklin
FTSE
China
ETF
(0.3%).
NTPC
India’s
power
generation
company
NTPC
—
formerly
the
National
Thermal
Power
Corporation
—
was
another
addition
to
Goldman’s
conviction
list.
Analyst
Apoorva
Bahadur
says
the
company
is
set
to
benefit
both
from
worsening
power
shortages
and
the
renewable
transition
more
broadly.
NTPC
states
on
its
website
that
it
has
an
installed
capacity
of
over 75
gigawatts,
and
plans
to
raise
this
to
130
gigawatts
by
2032.
Bahadur
believes
its
renewable
business
has
the
potential
to
“re-rate,
with
the
company
benefiting
from
decline
in
module
prices,
progress
on
new
energy
plans
and
potential
monetization.”
Shares
in
the
power
generation
player
are
nearly
104%
over
the
last
12
months.
Goldman
gives
the
stock
a
12-month
price
target
of
395
Indian
rupees
($4.74),
implying
potential
upside
of
8.8%.
Shionogi,
China
Medical
System
Meanwhile,
the
Wall
Street
bank
removed
two
pharmaceutical
players
—
Japan’s
Shionogi
and
the
China-headquartered
China
Medical
System
—
from
its
conviction
list.
—
CNBC’s
Michael
Bloom
contributed
to
this
report.
