Gong xi fa cai! Start your Chinese New Year off right with one of these stocks

Gong xi fa cai! That is a greeting used to denote the Chinese New Year, which was celebrated around the globe yesterday.

2019 is the Year of the Pig, the pig being the 12th of the animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac.

The Jade Emperor said the order would be decided by the order in which they arrived to his party. Pig was late because he overslept, according to one myth. Pigs are said to be symbols of wealth in Chinese cultures.

There are around 40 non-resources companies offering exposure to China across a broad array of industries. Since the last Chinese New Year, which occurred on February 16 last year, the stocks are down about 5 per cent.

Food Revolution Group (ASX:FOD) is the best-performing stock of this sub-sector in that time — its shares are up 226 per cent year on year.

The company manufactures various ranges of juices, supplements, fruit and veg and water. Its shares hit 14c on Tuesday afternoon, about the same price it was fetching when it signed a deal with the world’s biggest petrol company back in November.

Sinopec, the Chinese petrochemical giant, is keen to sell the Australian company’s canola oil products in its 35,000 mainland petrol stations, though the deal remains at the MoU stage.

Food Revolution is serious about a China exports strategy. It sold half of the company to Sydney-based investor Dr Norman Li, his business Careline, and some unnamed strategic investors for $20.2m.

In December, it announced its first order from Careline.

Murray Cod Australia (ASX:MCA), which was unaffected by the recent mass fish kill in the Darling River, sells its premium, farm-bred Murray Cod to China.

Its shares are up 136 per cent in the last year, hitting 16.5c on Tuesday.

Infant formula maker Clover Corp (ASX:CLV) is the only other company with three-figure one-year returns, with its shares up 104 per cent to $1.39.

Chinese enthusiasm for dairy formula has been a boon for Clover, which reported an increase in revenue and profit in the 2018 financial year.

Fellow dairy formula stocks A2 Milk (ASX:A2M), Synlait Milk (ASX:SM1) and Australian Dairy Nutritionals (ASX:AHF) are also smiling for Chinese New Year.

Animoca Brands (ASX:AB1) has also found success. It owns the China rights to one of the best-known blockchain-based games, CryptoKitties, a cat-breeding game that uses cryptocurrency Ethereum to trade “crypto-cats”.

Its shares are up 22 per cent to 9c.

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Most of the companies have seen their share prices slide over the past year, however. Beer brewer Broo (ASX:BEE) has lost 87 per cent of its value, as the company struggles with negative cashflow.

Livestock mover Wellard (ASX:WLD) is down 78 per cent, while the woes of dried fruit maker Murray River Organics (ASX:MRG), whose shares are down 72 per cent, have been well documented.

Here is a list of non-resources China-focused stocks. Click headings to sort