It's been a good two months for Japan's Nikkei 225. The index has climbed 15% over the past seven weeks, partly down to investor hopes that the world's third-largest economy might be able to ride out the worst effects of the global credit crisis. And with the market still two-thirds below the peak it hit in the late 1980s, there's a long way to go, says Simon Somerville, manager of the Jupiter Japan Income Fund.
"The Japanese market is cheap. Something like 50% of companies are trading below their book value" says Somerville in The Independent. Investing in stocks with a largely domestic focus, the Durham University economics graduate avoids the 10% or so of Japanese companies dependent on the global economy because they are more vulnerable to weakening consumer demand in the West. For example, Sony's share price has fallen 23% so far this year, he tells the FT.
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