Credit Suisse sees investment opportunities in China, Singapore and Indonesia
- The U.S.-China trade escalation has taken a toll on Asian stocks for much of 2018.
- The MSCI Asia ex-Japan index is down more than 20 percent from its highs in 2018.
- Suresh Tantia, investment strategist at Credit Suisse, told CNBC he sees investment opportunities in China, Singapore and Indonesia.
Asian stocks have been hit by waves of uncertainty this year, stemming from the escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China.
"Asian markets are down 15 percent this year because of the U.S.-China trade dispute and concerns about (an) economic ... slowdown," Suresh Tantia, investment strategist at Credit Suisse, told CNBC's "Street Signs" on Friday.
Asian economies will "definitely" experience a slowdown next year, he added.
The MSCI Asia ex-Japan index has fallen more than 20 percent from its 2018 highs, and Tantia is seeing opportunities amidst the turmoil.
"I like Asian markets because I think there's a big divergence between fundamentals and prices," he said. "Prices have moved far ahead of fundamentals."
"You look at the earnings picture for Asian markets, we are still looking at 10 percent kind of growth for 2019. Valuation is extremely cheap and this year, we have seen thirty billion dollar(s) of outflows from Asian equities which we have never seen going back to 2008," Tantia said.
Singapore could 'start to outperform'
"I think China, Singapore, Indonesia, all these markets look quite interesting," Tantia said.
For China, Tantia acknowledged that the country's ongoing trade war with the U.S. was a "very complex issue."
"Our view has been that President Xi and President Trump will agree on some kind of framework under which they will hold the negotiation and this agreement could come at G-20," he said, referring to the expected meeting between the two leaders in Argentina.
"It's a pretty decent picture given expectations of (a) truce on U.S. trade ... stabilization in economic momentum and healthy earnings growth, " Tantia said. "That's why I think this is a good time to buy into Chinese equities."
Singapore is a market that "suffered" as a result of the U.S.-China trade war and property cooling measures, Tantia said. The country's stocks have been "the worst performing ASEAN market this year," he added, despite stability in its economy and currency. "You got a stable economy, you have attractive valuation and also, very high dividend yield."
"Next year, if you do see kind of a truce taking place between U.S. and China on the trade front, (the) Singapore market could actually start to outperform," he added.
With respect to Indonesia, Tantia said the central bank's policy measures to stabilize the rupiah have started to bear fruit. Earlier in September, the rupiah fell to its weakest level in more than 20 years amid worries over emerging markets.
"I think the Indonesia market could continue to outperform, given that valuation is still, you know, quite reasonable, the earnings growth is much more healthy looking at 10 percent kind of growth over the next 12 months," he said.