June has traditionally been a weak month for Asian investment. On the other hand, staying away from the market from May until the end of August--as the old adage suggests--hasn’t been very rewarding either. During the summer months, bargains arise and portfolios can be positioned for the customarily stronger periods in Asian markets, namely late September through late January.

Currently, things are a little more complicated because investors still aren’t overwhelmingly bullish, and many stayed on the sidelines during the two-month global rally in equities. And because the global economic fundamentals are weak, the bears continue to outnumber the bulls.

China has been on the receiving end of a lot of bad publicity on the economic and financial fronts. The prevailing argument is that the slowdown in the developed economies will severely damage China’s economic growth. But this isn’t the whole story.

Exports remain an important part of China’s economy, but domestic investment and consumption are the main growth engines. (Retail sales growth in April was up 22 percent year-over-year.) And on the export front, China has seen strong growth from Africa, the Middle East and South America as resource-producing economies use commodities gains to revitalize their economies.

The ultimate reason for investing in Asia is the gradual transformation of its economies from simple goods manufacturers and exporters to true domestic demand-led economies. This transition will obviously take some time to play out and won’t come to a head for every economy simultaneously, but the progression seems irreversible.

As we enter the tricky summer months, you should concentrate on companies that have relatively strong pricing power, strong balance sheets and a decent, sustainable dividend yield.

I’ve outlined five companies below from my premium service, The Silk Road Investor, which fit the aforementioned parameters and display strong growth characteristics. Notice that these five refer to Asia excluding Japan, which I still favor. (See GE, 8 May 2008, A Stealthy Stock Market You Shouldn’t Ignore.)

The Longs

China Mobile is one of the largest mobile service providers in the world and has a subscriber base of more than 370 million. It operates mobile telecommunication services in 31 provinces and municipalities in China. The company added 7.97 million new subscribers in February, up 63 percent year-over-year.

In today’s market environment, China Mobile’s high earnings visibility and skilled management are great qualities that distinguish it. Furthermore, the company’s potential in the area is huge: The nationwide penetration rate is around 40 percent and is growing rapidly. In rural areas, in particular--which are becoming the government’s economic priority--the penetration rate is around 19 percent.

I expect this will be the company’s next growth driver because the central government has been committed to increasing the rural standard of living.

Cheung Kong is one of the biggest conglomerates in Asia and the barometer of the Hong Kong stock market; its main business is real estate. With its 49.9 percent ownership holdings in Hutchison Whampoa, the company’s business has expanded to include ports and related services, telecommunications, and energy and infrastructure.

The company’s 19.3 million-square-foot land bank in Hong Kong is the largest among developers and should continue to benefit from the country’s real estate revival. In China, the company owns 113.5 million square feet of land, and the expectation is that the revenue contribution from China will continue to rise for the next three years.

The company has a very strong balance sheet with low debt levels (net debt to equity is 16 percent) and still trades at a discount to many of its peers.

Standing alone, Taiwan may not be the most exiting investment story around. But in conjunction with China and the benefits the economy will reap from a more reasonable coexistence with the mainland, iShares MSCI Taiwan’s potential is huge.

Taiwan isn’t in a position to survive economically without China’s assistance or as public and governing elite finally realize that economic development is taking precedent over extreme nationalistic policies. As a result, China will gradually increase its investment in the island, sparking its economy as it did with Hong Kong 20 years ago.

Singapore Telecom has a steady, profitable domestic business, but it offers a backdoor entrance to India’s lucrative, explosive telecommunication market. The company owns a 20 percent stake in India’s fastest-growing telecom company, Bharti Group.

That stake contributes to a big part of Singapore Telecom’s profit growth, as well as its operations in Indonesia. The company also does business in Australia, Bangladesh, the Philippines and other Asia-Pacific countries.

It offers a 5.3 percent dividend yield, which should gradually increase because of management’s payout focus.

Bank of China Hong Kong (BoCHK) is the second-largest bank in Hong Kong in terms of deposits and loans. It has a customer base of around 2.5 million retail customers (around 40 percent of Hong Kong’s population). In China, BoCHK operates 14 branches and can make use of its parent’s 13,000 branches to serve the rising consumer demand for cross-border banking services.

BoCHK remains one of my favorite banks in Asia and should fair relatively well even during a weak market, while offering upside through its exposure in the revived Hong Kong real estate market and China’s banking expansion. The bank also offers a solid 4.3 percent dividend yield.