Investing in the wrong Chinese companies can be heartbreaking (remember Sino Forest?), but there are plenty of companies that are worthy of a long-term commitment, including 51Job.
China's job search portal has benefited from the nation's booming economy, as both Chinese firms and foreign companies ramp up hiring in the region. For example, late last year, German software firm SAP said it will spend $2 billion in China through 2015, hiring 2,000 people and opening several new offices across the country.
The more employers look to hire, the more 51Job has to gain, since companies pay fees to post job openings on 51Job.com. In its most recent quarter, revenue from its online recruiting business jumped almost 50%.
Originally a weekly publication that was inserted into China's newspapers, the company has evolved into a dot-com powerhouse, a step that has improved its profit margins. During the third quarter, margins expanded to 72.4% from just 56.2% five years earlier.
Though 51Job's stock took a beating last year, along with the broader Chinese market, it's been making a comeback, and is up almost 7% in 2012.
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