Asian stock markets may have had a weak year, but excessive cash in the region's companies is a hidden opportunity for investors, according to Jefferies. Asian ex-cash P/E is just 9.1 times, indicating "significant value," Jefferies' analysts noted. The region's stocks are also "appealing from the shareholder return perspective," given stronger prospects of buybacks backed by free cash flows and high cash balances, they wrote. Jefferies screened for Asian companies with "significant ex-cash value and strong fundamentals," and which it said make "good candidates" for buybacks and dividends. Other Asian stocks that made Jefferies' list include Singapore's transport company ComfortDelGro and Indian oil and gas company Petronet .

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Persons: Jefferies, JD.com, iPhones, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: MSCI HK, Baidu, China Communications Services, Qingdao Port International, Energy, Vipshop Holdings, Technology, Singapore South, Kia, Hyundai, Orion Corp Locations: Asia, Pacific, Japan, China, Qingdao, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Singapore South Korean