The Chinese mainland firms are China Construction Bank, China Mengniu Dairy, China Oilfield Services, China Southern Airlines and Datang International Power, the ratings agency said in a statement.

Hong Kong-based Henderson Land Development and Hutchison Telecommunications as well as Taiwan's AU Optronics are also part of the portfolio, according to the statement.

China Mengniu was selected because it is set to benefit from China's rising use of dairy products while China Oilfield is expected to achieve sustained growth thanks to increased exploration and production, the statement said.

Construction Bank will likely continue to enjoy a robust loan growth. China Southern will take advantage of yuan appreciation. Datang Power's output should grow, according to the statement.

The rating agency noted that the economies in the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan remain largely export-driven, but it believes the export picture is healthy. The S&P report said growth remains above trends in Europe, Japan and the United Kingdom, helping offset a slowdown in the United States.

"In addition, domestic demand is increasingly relevant as a growing middle class emerges on the Chinese mainland and expands in Hong Kong and Taiwan amid rising wages and property prices," said Lorraine Tan, vice president of Equity Research at S&P Asia.

S&P's 30-stock global portfolio is designed to exceed the total return of the benchmark S&P Global 1200 index during 2007, the statement said.

A similar 2006 portfolio generated a 30.8 percent yearly return, compared with a 21.5 percent gain on the S&P 1200 index, it said.

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