Asia's Hot Growth Companies: 2006

Here are the pace-setters from around the region, including a surprising No. 1 from Thailand

The list of Asia's hot growth companies reveals a number of startling trends. One is the strength of Japan, which despite China's undisputed rise still has vibrancy as an economy. Japanese companies occupy more slots on the list than companies from any other country, and they range from temp agencies to retailers to electronics outfits. Taiwan's high-tech promise comes through clearly on the list. Singapore, long criticized for its inability to nurture startups, has a healthy contingent. China shows its prowess in heavy manufacturing. And even Thailand makes the ranks, snagging the No. 1 spot with a marine shipping company—about as far from the chip labs of Japan and Taiwan as you can get.

Sales and Profits are latest available annual figures. Profits include income from continuing operations before gains or loses from extraordinary items.

Three-Year Average Change in Sales or Profits is calculated using the least-squares method. If results for the earliest year are negative or not available, the average is for two years.

Return on Capital (or ROIC) is earnings expressed as a percentage of total debt and equity. For ranking purposes, the maximum allowable annual return on capital is 100%.

Time periods vary according to the month of the company's fiscal year end. Profitability and growth are calculated based on the most recently available annual data.

Stock price data are as of Oct. 27, 2006.

Click column heading once to reorder from highest to lowest. Click twice to reorder from lowest to highest.

2006 RANK	COMPANY	COUNTRY	SALES 2005 (US$ MIL.)	PROFITS 2005 (US$ MIL.)	RETURN ON CAPITAL 2005 (%)	3-YEAR AVG. CHG. SALES (%)	3-YEAR AVG. CHG. PROFITS (%)	3-YEAR AVG. RETURN ON CAPITAL (%)	12-MONTH HIGH PRICE (US$)	12-MONTH LOW PRICE (US$)	CURRENT PRICE (US$)	MARKET VALUE (US$)	BUSINESS DESCRIPTION
1	Precious Shipping	Thailand	285.0	159.6	46.7	55.9	154.8	39.5	1.2	0.7	1.2	606.6	Marine Transportation
2	Raffles Education	Singapore*	55.9	20.0	86.8	68.7	80.7	72.7	1.7	0.7	1.7	878.7	Education Services
3	Thoresen Thai Agencies	Thailand	384.6	153.7	35.8	66.3	157.9	30.0	0.9	0.4	0.7	464.2	Marine Transportation
4	Sitronix Technology	Taiwan	109.6 y	18.8	30.5	73.4 a	60.7 a	30.8	3.6	2.1	2.8	229.5	Electronic Equipment Manufacturers
5	Infortrend Technology	Taiwan	95.4	38.2	32.6	43.9	58.3	36.6	1.5	1.1	1.2	270.4	Computer Storage & Peripherals
6	Gendai Agency	Japan*	127.3	9.0	30.2	45.8	65.2	32.4	5,346.0	2,593.0	2,814.8	309.6	Advertising
7	Hangzhou Steam Turbine	China	241.0	43.5	38.6	84.7	129.3	24.4	1.5	0.7	1.3	133.6	Heavy Electrical Equipment
8	SIMPLO Technology	Taiwan	358.0	31.2	25.5	59.9	74.6	24.7	3.0	2.0	2.8	372.9	Computer Storage & Peripherals
9	Powertech Technology	Taiwan	341.8	107.4	22.2	59.8	164.5	22.0	3.2	2.0	2.9	1,316.0	Semiconductors
10	en-japan	Japan	98.6	18.9	31.5	55.1	46.1	27.6	6,945.6	3,965.3	4,702.6	1,128.6	Human Resource & Employment Services
11	Prime Success Intl. Group	Hong Kong	337.7	32.8	30.9	30.1	114.8	26.7	0.8	0.4	0.8	1,309.1	Footwear
12	KS Energy Services	Singapore	167.0	20.9	26.1	55.6	109.8	22.8	1.7	0.9	1.6	391.1	Trading Companies & Distributors
13	ACCA Networks	Japan	348.4	26.5	16.6	37.0	56.0 a	27.3	3,687.5	1,246.0	1,479.7	183.5	Internet Software & Services
14	Axell	Japan*	65.3	19.6	29.3	33.1	50.4	32.5	4,310.5	2,593.0	3,052.9	381.6	Semiconductors
15	Message Co.	Japan*	125.8	8.2	13.1	66.0	125.1	21.4	1,978.4	1,001.8	1,352.1	243.4	Health-Care Facilities
16	Hi-P Intl.	Singapore	392.9	55.3	24.5	59.5 a	56.0 a	24.4	1.2	0.4	0.5	460.9	Industrial Machinery
17	Jaya Hldgs.	Singapore*	190.1	66.6	31.5	33.6	51.7	27.8	1.0	0.8	0.9	682.4	Construction & Farm Machinery & Heavy Trucks
18	point	Japan*	421.2	47.6	31.9	33.6	56.0	27.1	84.7	45.2	46.7	1,193.2	Apparel Retail
19	Intops	Korea	350.1	38.5	27.3	41.7	54.4	25.0	38.6	21.3	27.5	236.6	Electronic Equipment Manufacturers
20	Malaysian Bulk Carriers	Malaysia	107.0 y	174.3	34.0	36.3 a	126.0 a	22.5	0.7	0.6	0.7	591.4	Marine Transportation
21	HANATOUR Service	Korea	124.9	17.1	38.3	32.4	35.7	37.0	82.7	34.5	58.9	599.0	Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines
22	Hexaware Technologies	India	149.5	20.2	25.9	41.8	144.9	21.4	3.9	2.2	3.8	91.2	IT Consulting & Other Services
23	Johnson Health Tech	Taiwan	261.5	37.8	29.3	33.0	38.5	29.0	7.2	3.0	6.9	1,071.6	Leisure Products
24	O-TA Precision	Taiwan	184.5	26.5	33.9	34.0	33.3	29.1	2.3	1.6	2.0	232.4	Leisure Products
25	Dongfang Electrical Machinery	China	380.3 y	66.7	31.5	51.2	196.1	18.0	2.4	0.9	2.0	1,051.3	Heavy Electrical Equipment
26	Take and Give Needs	Japan*	291.5	24.9	23.8	86.5	144.1	16.5	1,869.0	875.6	1,020.5	736.8	Specialized Consumer Services
27	DeNA	Japan*	55.2	12.8	13.1	87.7	170.7 a	15.0	3,721.1	1,877.4	3,018.9	1,430.9	Internet Retail
28	Telewave	Japan*	174.5	20.6	20.9	39.3	58.3	21.2	4,840.8	1,540.7	2,006.9	955.3	Internet Software & Services
29	Matrix Laboratories	India*	255.2	43.9	9.8	38.3	34.8	24.8	6.7	3.9	5.8	898.3	Pharmaceuticals
30	V Technology	Japan*	125.5	10.7	23.4	43.9	146.0	16.6	16,585.1	3,931.6	4,821.7	217.0	Electronic Equipment Manufacturers
31	Inner Mongolia Yitai Coal	China	437.7	88.0	28.3	37.4	135.7	18.2	1.7	1.0	1.4	226.8	Coal & Consumable Fuels
32	Unisteel Technology	Singapore	114.4	25.5	31.0	24.6	33.2	28.3	1.4	0.9	1.3	413.0	Computer Storage & Peripherals
33	Dabur India	India*	418.3	50.0	40.9	11.6	36.6	35.0	3.8	1.8	3.2	1,852.4	Personal Products
34	Tripod Technology	Taiwan	463.5	65.1	25.2	53.0	72.6	18.1	3.4	1.9	3.1	1,126.1	Electronic Equipment Manufacturers
35	NEPES	Korea	128.0	19.2	13.5	89.2	112.7 a	14.3	20.7	6.8	8.9	166.4	Industrial Machinery
36	Bumrungrad Hospital	Thailand	171.7	27.2	25.4	23.3	62.9	22.1	1.0	0.7	1.0	735.0	Health-Care Facilities
37	Scomi Group	Malaysia	288.7 y	41.0	11.3	156.4 a	228.9 a	12.1	0.4	0.2	0.2	232.2	Oil & Gas Equipment & Services
38	Largan Precision	Taiwan	123.3	52.4	28.1	24.7	20.3	27.2	22.7	9.0	20.1	2,416.4	Photographic Products
39	CNPC (Hong Kong)	China	435.0	469.3	25.3	26.0	109.9	19.0	0.6	0.2	0.5	2,442.4	Oil & Gas Exploration & Production
40	Excite Japan	Japan*	81.0	8.5	14.4	37.3	92.0	17.2	12,123.1	3,384.4	4,251.9	233.9	Internet Software & Services
41	Ihara Science	Japan*	102.3	13.7	24.3	21.3	122.7	20.1	18.9	12.2	14.6	196.7	Industrial Machinery
42	TOCALO	Japan*	180.0	27.3	24.8	22.6 a	42.4 a	23.9	44.1	23.7	34.9	550.8	Industrial Machinery
43	RichTek Technology	Taiwan	82.5	16.9	32.0	15.7 a	14.6 a	34.4	8.5	2.2	7.9	774.1	Semiconductors
44	OSIM Intl.	Singapore	311.9	29.0	17.7	26.8	38.8	22.4	1.3	0.8	1.0	563.3	Specialty Stores
45	Honeys	Japan*	355.7	29.4	21.8	38.8	49.8	18.7	59.0	36.7	46.5	1,297.8	Apparel Retail
46	Hyundai Elevator	Korea	495.7	87.5	23.4	13.7	73.2 a	22.3	97.6	67.0	73.2	458.3	Industrial Machinery
47	Zijin Mining Group	China	378.8	87.8	18.4	70.0 a	49.7 a	16.4	0.6	0.1	0.6	1,811.8	Gold Producers
48	Thai Stanley Electric	Thailand*	214.9	27.6	24.6	22.6	28.4	25.3	4.7	3.6	4.4	337.8	Auto Parts & Equipment
49	Guinness Anchor	Malaysia*	263.9	34.7	35.2	10.1	17.2	33.3	1.7	1.4	1.7	512.8	Brewers
50	MphasiS BFL	India*	207.0	33.0	22.6	30.1	30.4	22.4	5.1	2.7	5.1	800.2	IT Consulting & Other Services
51	Taiwan Fu Hsing Industrial	Taiwan	149.8	40.1	30.4	25.1	58.2	20.1	1.2	0.8	0.9	175.2	Building Products
52	CSE Global	Singapore	166.0	13.7	24.4	22.5	20.0	25.3	0.8	0.4	0.8	247.5	IT Consulting & Other Services
53	IXI	Japan*	346.2	15.3	14.3	89.7	71.0	12.7	4,756.7	1,692.2	3,078.4	461.8	IT Consulting & Other Services
54	Kinko Optical	Taiwan	95.2	21.0	14.1	34.2	39.0	19.9	2.6	1.7	1.7	196.2	Photographic Products
55	BASSO Industry	Taiwan	114.1	27.3	20.7	20.9	14.3	25.7	1.9	1.0	1.1	210.4	Household Appliances
56	L&K Engineering	Taiwan	248.5 y	29.1	19.4	46.9	25.9	18.8	2.0	1.1	1.3	196.0	Diversified Commercial & Professional Services
57	Nien Made Enterprise	Taiwan	368.1	40.7	23.1	16.0	22.2	25.7	1.2	0.8	0.9	346.7	Home Furnishings
58	MCJ	Japan*	305.6	4.9	3.7	82.9	68.6	12.3	1,119.7	355.3	553.6	250.2	Computer Hardware
59	cyber communications	Japan*	346.1	10.6	17.3	48.1	152.4	11.0	5,834.3	1,212.3	1,530.7	786.8	Advertising
60	Hyflux	Singapore	81.7	28.7	15.3	38.9	53.7	15.9	2.0	1.3	1.7	871.3	Industrial Machinery
61	Seoul Semiconductor	Korea	151.7	19.9	21.0	10.4	29.5	25.7	26.2	12.6	19.3	442.1	Electrical Components & Equipment
62	GMO Internet	Japan	319.5	28.0	10.7	45.1	150.2	11.1	24.9	8.6	10.1	628.4	Internet Software & Services
63	Takeuchi Mfg.	Japan*	491.2	28.2	16.0	38.1	41.2	17.9	54.7	26.7	45.2	692.6	Construction & Farm Machinery & Heavy Trucks
64	First Engineering	Singapore*	113.5	16.5	23.3	21.7	19.7	24.3	0.8	0.5	0.5	104.4	Industrial Machinery
65	Meiko Electronics	Japan*	432.0	41.3	12.1	33.1	117.1	13.2	94.9	32.7	40.3	690.8	Electronic Equipment Manufacturers
66	Lung Kee (Bermuda) Holdings	Hong Kong	244.6	31.0	20.7	33.2	37.4	18.4	0.8	0.4	0.5	302.6	Industrial Machinery
67	Tong Ren Tang Technologies	China	141.7	28.8	23.2	19.6	16.4	24.8	2.3	1.7	1.7	125.4	Pharmaceuticals
68	Nihon Ceratec	Japan*	88.8	9.9	13.6	27.7	61.0	16.0	6,221.5	2,433.0	2,576.7	201.0	Industrial Machinery
69	Japan Pure Chemical	Japan*	63.9	10.1	23.6	20.9	35.3	21.6	8,124.2	3,540.1	4,923.7	305.3	Specialty Chemicals
70	Shenzhen Chiwan Wharf Hldgs.	China	221.4	72.8	17.2	35.3	49.2	15.8	1.8	1.3	1.6	1,097.6	Marine Ports & Services
71	Makalot Industrial	Taiwan	317.7	18.1	27.0	18.0	13.3	24.0	1.7	1.2	1.7	202.3	Textiles
72	HTL Intl. Hldgs.	Singapore	371.2	33.6	20.6	21.1	36.4	20.2	0.9	0.6	0.8	320.3	Home Furnishings
73	Roland DG	Japan*	247.8	26.2	15.1	28.8	54.5	15.2	33.3	24.2	32.0	569.1	Computer Storage & Peripherals
74	PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam	Indonesia	322.6	50.2	22.6	11.8	40.9	21.2	0.4	0.2	0.4	853.9	Coal & Consumable Fuels
75	Unicharm PetCare	Japan*	261.4	15.7	20.0	11.1	53.5	19.2	43.8	31.0	38.2	529.0	Packaged Foods & Meats
76	Lite-on Semiconductor	Taiwan	328.8	36.0	14.9	32.3	52.0	14.8	1.2	0.7	0.8	351.4	Electronic Equipment Manufacturers
77	Hana Microelectronics	Thailand	313.6	53.3	22.8	16.1	13.0 a	23.1	0.8	0.6	0.7	603.2	Electronic Manufacturing Services
78	Engro Chemical Pakistan	Pakistan	311.9	37.9	21.8	18.4	24.2	21.8	3.7	2.4	3.0	492.3	Fertilizers & Agricultural Chemicals
79	THine Electronics	Japan	187.2	14.7	20.5	21.8	26.6	20.3	6,103.7	1,608.0	1,955.9	240.6	Semiconductors
80	Harmonic Drive Systems	Japan*	124.1	18.1	12.5	16.7	167.4	13.2	5,312.3	2,494.8	5,195.9	504.0	Industrial Machinery
81	CyberLink	Taiwan	75.3	22.2	19.4	27.4	29.3	18.5	4.1	2.1	3.4	335.0	Application Software
82	Wumart Stores	China	488.9	20.5	12.6	57.7 a	51.6 a	10.2	1.0	0.5	0.9	381.9	Hypermarkets & Super Centers
83	Hengan Intl. Group	Hong Kong	390.2	58.0	17.7	39.4	29.6	14.3	2.4	0.9	2.4	2,549.9	Personal Products
84	Moshi Moshi Hotline	Japan*	468.9	34.0	19.9	16.6	22.4	20.9	44.9	30.7	35.4	612.0	Office Services & Supplies
85	PT Aneka Tambang	Indonesia	353.6	90.6	15.0	25.2	74.2	12.3	0.7	0.3	0.7	1,288.2	Diversified Metals & Mining
86	Nankang Rubber Tire	Taiwan	285.3	40.8	17.5	29.0	65.6	11.7	1.5	0.7	1.4	492.1	Tires & Rubber
87	Jenn Feng Industrial	Taiwan	195.3	13.7	13.3	28.6	85.2	10.9	1.3	1.0	1.1	135.3	Industrial Machinery
88	Petra Perdana	Malaysia	133.5	11.0	21.0	22.8	50.6	13.6	0.7	0.4	0.7	180.8	Oil & Gas Equipment & Services
89	Wockhardt	India	311.0	56.6	15.1	21.0	36.2	16.6	12.1	7.1	8.7	952.4	Pharmaceuticals
90	Iriso Electronics	Japan*	156.2	18.1	16.3	16.3	77.2	13.1	46.0	26.5	37.3	412.0	Electronic Equipment Manufacturers
91	EPS	Japan	111.6	9.7	16.5	28.9	36.1	14.0	3,485.4	1,448.0	2,202.5	189.4	Life Sciences Tools & Services
92	Aeon Fantasy	Japan*	296.0	18.2	19.7	19.7	25.5	18.4	50.3	19.7	36.2	547.6	Leisure Facilities
93	Round One	Japan*	431.6	102.7	20.5	20.2	36.9	16.3	5,017.6	3,342.3	3,979.8	2,479.4	Leisure Facilities
94	Hitachi Tool Engineering	Japan*	196.4	26.3	16.6	14.5	99.0	12.9	23.7	12.7	14.6	400.9	Industrial Machinery
95	Luthai Textile	China	278.6	38.9	12.9	34.4	36.4	12.4	1.0	0.8	0.9	350.8	Textiles
96	PAL Co.	Japan*	378.7	26.8	15.6	30.3	47.9	12.2	98.4	32.0	40.9	372.1	Apparel Retail
97	Lasertec	Japan*	103.3	16.2	17.0	25.8	42.8	13.0	39.7	17.4	25.5	297.2	Semiconductor Equipment
98	Elec & Eltek Intl.	Singapore*	475.9	52.0	13.7	21.5	44.6	13.5	2.9	2.1	2.7	482.9	Electronic Equipment Manufacturers
99	Labroy Marine	Singapore	320.2	33.9	17.1	25.1	40.2	13.2	1.2	0.5	1.2	1,005.7	Marine Transportation
100	GES Intl.	Singapore*	429.6	36.1	21.8	15.6	32.0	18.0	0.8	0.5	0.8	587.4	Computer Hardware
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

FOOTNOTES:
* Data is from fiscal year ending in 2006.
(a) Two-year growth rate.
(x) Sales include excise taxes.
(y) Sales include other income.