SARS Crisis May Have Created Investment Opportunities, Report Suggests

by Philip Morton, Investors Offshore.com

12 May 2003

The SARS crisis may have opened up investment opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region for the braver investor, according to a report from the South China Morning Post.

In a report published on Friday, the SCMP suggested that:

'Taking a broader sweep of market history, five years after suffering cataclysmic losses on the Asian financial crisis, stock prices should be on a cyclical recovery path along with regional economies and corporate earnings.'

Despite acknowledging the impact that various events such as the September 11 attacks, US corporate governance scandals, the Iraq war, and the SARS crisis have had on the region's economy, however, experts are suggesting that the Asian markets may be the place to pick up some bargains, once the virus is brought under control.

Predicting that consumer demand may increase over the next few months to higher than normal levels, Ajay Kapur, regional strategist for Citigroup Smith Barney explained to the SCMP that:

'It is like a hungry guy who, once he is off his diet, is going to get rather voracious. There may be a pretty sharp snap-back.'

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