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JAPAN

Japanese stocks still haven't fully recovered from last year's downfall after the devastating earthquake and tsunami. People are holding back their stocks, fearing another financial crisis.

But Hunt, of Tocqueville International Value Fund, says “investors are overly worried about these risks”, so he has taken risk of purchasing Japanese stocks. “China and the U.S. are not as bad as they seem and the yen should weaken, making Japanese companies more competitive,” he adds.

Two companies he likes are Hitachi and Canon. Under a new CEO, Hitachi is overcoming from a weaker business under a new CEO and is also cutting costs and these are positively boosting its profit margins. “It's a very complicated company, so a lot of people don't try to understand it,” he says. As a result, the stocks look cheap but have patentability of doubling in two years.

Along with Hunt's fund, which has a good record, you can also get exposure to Japan through the iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund.



VIETNAM

Many Chinese companies are looking forward to relocate and to find a lower-cost labor force, as the wages are increasing rapidly in China. One major destination is Vietnam.

“I see Vietnam as the next country to replace low-labor-cost manufacturing that was in China,” says Dietrich, of Washington Wealth Management. “Vietnam is going to inherit a lot of that, and this is really creating a lot of new jobs in Vietnam,” he adds.

That's one reason why growth last year is likely to surpass that of 2010’s growth by 6.8 percent, says Dietrich. The country's central bank is also vehemently cutting interest rates and taking other steps to kindle the economy.

Vietnam is so small, that very few of its companies are listed on U.S. exchanges. One way to play the upbeat the trends is the Market Vectors Vietnam ETF, which holds about 30 Vietnamese companies in banking, energy, electricity, construction and food.





PHILIPPINES

The days when China's economy was pushed by heavy growth in infrastructure spending are now wrapping up. However, you can still catch the same beckon elsewhere, if you know exactly where to look.

One such place is Philippines, says Kaufman, of Thornburg Developing World Fund. “It's in the early stages of its fixed-asset investment cycle,” he says. Along with government spending, foreign capital is also pouring in via direct investments in companies and projects.

“This will create jobs and lead to an interesting domestic-consumption story,” he adds. The Philippines has a population of near about 93 million, so the consumer-growth theme has some heft. One additional advantage for this country is that its people speak English, which helps in two ways. First - it aids a great help for call centers and other types of outsourcing firms. Second - a lot of Philippines’ citizens move abroad for work. Their cash flow boosts growth, since the money gets reinvested in the local financial system, says Kaufman.

There are ETF (Exchange Traded Funds) called iShares MSCI Philippines Investable Market Index Fund, which holds about 36 stocks in retail, telecom, industry, utilities, materials and banking. It also includes Security Bank, one of Kaufman's favorite stocks in the country.




COLOMBIA

“Ten years ago, it was tough to invest in Colombia”, says Kaufman of Thornburg Developing World Fund. As political disputes spilled out over into violence then, which scared away foreign investments which might have helped the economy grow; but now that there's greater political steadiness. Colombia is one of Kaufman's favorite countries in Latin America, because of robust inflows of investments from Big Oil. “Colombia is earlier in its growth development,” he adds. He suggests that Giant oil companies like BP, Chevron, Total and Occidental Petroleum and Market Vectors Colombia ETF (Exchange Traded Funds) have better investment options.





EUROPA

Though the Eurozone credit scared the European markets last summer, it has bounced back a lot. Still, it is attractive to value investors and contrarians, who make money by betting. “We are only part of the way back, and that's why Europe is interesting,” says James Hunt, Manager of the Tocqueville International Value Fund. Zendi predicts, “The economies are not great, but it's not as bad as the market thinks”. He also adds up by saying “Europe will be out of recession by the end of the year.”

John Hancock, Arbuthnot of Global Opportunities Fund, a contrarian Investor, says “he's finding some of the best bargains in Italy.” It’s been said that these stocks are “bombed out” because of uncertainty about the impact of government’s strictness, he says. So a lot of stocks look cheap contrary to their potential. Some of the better investment options are - iShares MSCI Norway Capped Investable Market Index Fund, iShares MSCI France Index Fund, iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund and iShares MSCI Italy Index Fund.





BRAZIL

Brazil is insistently easing monetary policy to encourage its economic growth, says Zandi, of Moody's Analytics. It's also taking initiatives to reduce the value of its currency, which promotes exports.

Meanwhile, Brazil has huge supplies of commodities including oil, gold, iron, uranium, sugar, coffee, beef and chicken. Selling more of these commodities abroad brings in funds that prompt growth, says portfolio manager Christopher Arbuthnot, of the John Hancock Global Opportunities Fund, which owns several plays on growth in Brazil.

According to Morningstar OGX Petroleo, a large oil-and-gas company controlled by Eike Batista, who is also the richest man in Brazil, is good enough company to invest in. "This is going to become a major oil company, and the stock is very cheap," adds Arbuthnot. Some other stocks are of MPX Energia and Brazil Hospitality Group.




CHINA

Investing in China needs a basic rule of not betting against the Chinese government, as it has the power to get what it wants. “You never want to buck Chinese economic policies,” says Paul Dietrich, Director of Global Research at Washington Wealth Management, as told to MSN Money.

“China wants a strong internal economy, so it doesn’t have to worry about Europe and the U.S.”, adds Dietrich. China is carping up its retreat system to encourage people to save less and spend more. It's lowering its income taxes for people, who earn less, and wages are rising rapidly, may be to boast retail therapy for the masses to cope with slowing export demand.

Dietrich suggests that China’s smartphone provider China Mobile is a good place to invest in. He says, “It’s one of the fastest-growing cell phone companies in the world. It has enormous potential.”

Dietrich also likes CNOOC, which is China's main offshore oil and gas producer. “They are the Exxon of China; Chinese people are just like us. When they buy a new car, they want to go on a road trip,” he says.

He also suggests Chinese Internet search company Baidu, retailer of luxury watches, Hengdeli, Las Vegas Sands