Brokers point to 'Chinese tech stocks and AI chips' as golden opportunities to weather the trade war, recommending 'DR' to build a strong portfolio to withstand volatility.

Analysts at the "Investment Timing: Gold is thriving, stocks are booming" event, addressing the topic of "Overseas Stocks Breaking Through the Screen: Go Global with DR," pointed out that volatility and the US-China trade war pose challenges but also hide "golden opportunities" in future industries. They recommend using "DR" as a primary tool to "Go Global," diversify risk, and build a "Core & Satellite" portfolio.

Mr. Sittichai Duangrattanachaiya, Chief Investment Strategist, InnovestX Securities Co., Ltd.

Mr. Sittichai Duangrattanachaya, Chief Investment Strategist Innovative X Securities Company Limited Speaking at the seminar “Catch the right investment opportunity, gold is booming, stocks are booming.” organized by Journal of Finance and Banking on the topic “Foreign stocks are breaking through the screen. Go Global with DR.” On October 17, 2568

Global investment markets will face challenges from volatility and the ongoing trade war between the US and China. Whether it's the US blocking China's access to cutting-edge chip technology or China retaliating by curbing the export of rare earth minerals, a key manufacturing material, amidst this tension, investment opportunities in future industries are growing significantly.

This is especially true in the Chinese market, which is seriously focusing on self-reliance in technology and green industries under the 5-year economic development plan (2026-2030), which clearly states that the "winner" industries are the Advanced Tech (Semi, AI) and Green Energy groups. Meanwhile, in the US market, the Info Tech group is spearheading growth, with a forecast of earnings per share (EPS Growth) of up to 20% in the third quarter of 2025.

The most prominent opportunities in Asia are in the technology sector. In particular, China's AI chip industry is accelerating its self-reliance, and its domestic market share is expected to reach 50% by 2028.

Meanwhile, several leading Chinese AI chip companies are preparing for initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2025-2026 to raise funds for the development of next-generation AI chips, reflecting their rapid growth and presenting significant opportunities for investors seeking long-term growth potential.

For Thai investors looking to seize growth opportunities in these international markets, Depositary Receipts (DRs), particularly DR23s issued by InnovestX, are an important tool for easily going global. The advantages of investing through DR23s include:

• Convenience in trading: Can be traded like Thai stocks on the stock exchange in Thai baht.
• Easy access to high-priced stocks: Helps retail investors gain access to high-priced foreign stocks.
• Tax benefits: Receive tax benefits equivalent to investing in Thai securities.
• Liquidity and fair pricing

Analysts have recommended interesting securities groups in foreign markets. Investors can create portfolios to gain growth and create stability through DR23. Investments are divided into interesting themes, including:

1. Growth Stock Theme

For investors seeking long-term returns, InnovestX highlights stocks in the rapidly growing future industries, including SMIC23 and HUAHONG23, which reference leading Chinese semiconductor and AI chip companies that are accelerating their self-sufficiency and expanding market share. CATL23, a global leader in clean energy and a leading electric vehicle battery manufacturer, is also featured.

2. Technology theme

To seize the opportunities of digital transformation, don't miss BABA23, which references the stock of Alibaba Group, China's e-commerce and cloud computing leader, a key driver of the region's digital economy.

3. Income and Infrastructure Theme

For investors seeking cash flow and reduced portfolio volatility, HSHD23 and AIA23 can be considered. HSHD23 refers to high-dividend stock ETFs in the Hong Kong market, while AIA23 refers to large insurance companies with strong financial positions. For the infrastructure sector, HKEX23 refers to stocks on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which have attractive valuations and are a global financial center.

Investing through DRs is a solution that helps Thai investors diversify their geographic risk and effectively build an all-weather portfolio using Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA) investment techniques and regular portfolio rebalancing.

Mr. Peeranat Yuenyongpisit, Head of International Securities Business, International Securities Department, Bualuang Securities Co., Ltd.

side Mr. Peeranat Yuenyongpisit, Head of International Securities Business, International Securities Department, Bualuang Securities Co., Ltd. In the topic "Foreign Stocks Breaking Through the Screen: Go Global with DR", he said that in 2025, foreign stock markets adjusted up quite well, especially the US, Vietnam, and China-Hong Kong stock markets, while the Thai stock market remains negative. However, in this fourth quarter, there is a chance that the stock market will adjust downward. There are 3 main factors to watch out for:

1. US Government Shutdown: A potential temporary shutdown of the US federal government due to a failure to pass a budget bill in time could impact investor confidence and send the stock market down.
2. Trade War: The trade conflict between the United States and China could flare up again, especially if the United States decides to impose additional tariffs on Chinese imports, which could impact the global economy as a whole.
3. US labor market: The US employment figures, which are starting to show signs of slowing down, could pressure the Federal Reserve (Fed) to delay interest rate hikes or even consider cutting them in the future.

However, the company remains positive about the long-term outlook for the stock market, believing that a potential correction in the fourth quarter will present a good opportunity for investors who are not yet invested in US stocks to accumulate shares at a reasonable price.

Mr. Peeranat said that Regarding the issue that many are concerned about a bubble in technology and artificial intelligence (AI) stocks, analysts believe that despite the significant rise in stock prices, when considering fundamental factors such as the price-to-earnings ratio (P/E ratio), they are still considered not excessively high compared to the past. A downward adjustment would make the stock prices even more attractive.

Regarding the Chinese stock market, analysts acknowledge that the overall Chinese economy still faces numerous challenges, but the Chinese government is likely to roll out additional stimulus measures, particularly in the state-backed technology sector, to reduce reliance on foreign technology. The Communist Party of China's congress in October will be particularly interesting to watch.

For investment strategies during this period, analysts recommend that investors use the “Core & Satellite” strategy. By allocating the majority of the investment (Core), approximately 70-80%, to invest through indices in various countries to create stable long-term growth, and allocating the remaining investment (Satellite) to invest in individual stocks with the potential to generate higher returns. Investors can conveniently invest in these foreign stocks and indices through Depositary Receipt (DR) products listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, which are currently very popular with Thai investors, with a total market value of more than 5 billion baht.

With the “Core & Satellite” strategy, the portfolio grows with DR to seize opportunities in the global stock market under volatile environments. Investors can use the Core & Satellite Portfolio strategy by using Depositary Receipts (DR) as the main tool, including:

1. Core Portfolio (80%): Build a solid foundation with leading indices. Invest in leading global stock indices to create stability and diversify risk, especially indices like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100. Investors can invest easily and confidently with "DR Global Index," a strategy that invests in DRs referencing foreign stock index ETFs, with automatic portfolio adjustments based on market conditions by experts.

2. Satellite Portfolio (20%) Hunt for incremental returns from megatrends by allocating a small portion of your capital to high-growth investment trends and themes, such as AI and Cloud. Using DRs that reference individual stocks gives investors immediate access to top stocks.

• AI theme Stocks like NVDA01 and ASML01, which are leaders in GPUs and chip manufacturing machinery.
• Chinese technology and EV theme: Stocks like CATL01 (the world's No. 1 EV battery maker), which has delivered a remarkable 96.2% return through early 2025, and BIDU01 (China's AI leader Baidu), which has returned 46.2%, as well as the DR underlying the China tech index STAR5001, which has surged 43.2%.

Investing through DRs is a shortcut that allows Thai investors to go global and confidently build long-term portfolio growth alongside global stock markets.

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