Global bank picks Asia stock 'winners' to play the energy crisis

Published Wed, Oct 13 20217:19 PM EDTUpdated Wed, Oct 13 20219:42 PM EDT

As energy prices spike and China faces a severe power crunch , BNP Paribas named 19 stocks in Asia that would be winners. "In the environment of spiking energy prices, fuel suppliers (i.e. coal miners and oil & gas explorers) are obvious gainers," the French bank said in a report last week. "In addition, we believe the ongoing energy crisis should intensify the focus on renewable energy on the part of governments across Asia," it added. BNP Paribas identified beneficiaries of the energy crisis among Asia ex-Japan stocks with a market capitalization of $5 billion or more. BNP Paribas names 'winners' The following stocks made it into the bank's basket of "winners": China Coal miners: China Shenhua Energy , China Coal Energy , Shanxi Coking Coal Energy , Yanzhou Coal Oil explorers or refiners: CNOOC , PetroChina Renewable energy: China Longyuan Power , CGN Power South Korea Oil exploration firms or refiners: S Oil India Coal miner: Coal India Oil explorers or refiners: ONGC , Reliance Industries Renewable energy: Adana Green Energy Indonesia Coal miners: Adaro Energy , Bukit Asam , Indo Tambangraya Megah Thailand Coal miner: Banpu Public Co. Oil explorers or refiners: PTT Exploration & Production, Thai Oil ... and 'losers' BNP Paribas also named 18 stock "losers" from rising energy prices — all but one are from China. Thermal power generators in China face compressed margins due to higher input costs from rising coal prices and government-controlled electricity tariffs, said the bank. Gas distributors also face similar challenges in the short term, the bank added. It explained that those companies can pass on higher costs to customers, but that usually happens with some delays. Meanwhile, energy-intensive sectors such as steel, aluminum, chemicals and cement could lose out from production cuts in China and increase in energy costs, said BNP Paribas. Here are the Chinese stocks featured in the bank's "losers" basket: Thermal power generators: China Resources Power , China Power International , Huaneng Power International , Huadian Power International Gas distributors: China Gas Holdings , China Resources Gas , ENN Energy , Hong Kong and China Gas Co. , Kunlun Energy Industrial metals/building materials: Aluminum Corp of China , Baoshan Iron & Steel , Angang Steel Co , China National Building Material , Anhui Conch Cement , China Resources Cement Industrial chemicals: China National Chemical Engineering , Zhejiang Longsheng Group The only non-China losing stock in BNP's basket is India's gas distributor Indraprastha Gas .

Workers cut up coal carts in Dec. 2019 at a coal mine in Mentougou, west of Beijing, where many mines have been shut as China scrambles to cut carbon emissions.

Greg Baker | AFP | Getty Images

As energy prices spike and China faces a severe power crunch, BNP Paribas named 19 stocks in Asia that would be winners.