As Duncan said, despite this huge influx of investment, many Asian stocks still look cheap relative to corporate earnings, because of growing exports and low interest rates. So in many markets, speculation about the effect of a higher yuan is by no means the only thing driving prices higher. And in some, analysts say, the higher yuan may have little impact, or even a negative one.
India, for example, does not compete with China for exports and so is unlikely to see much of an effect, yet it has experienced a rise in foreign buying since China's revaluation. Taiwan, which saw so much foreign money come in, has moved so much of its manufacturing to China that analysts say the higher yuan may actually hurt corporate profits there.
Indonesia competes with China in textiles and it exports raw materials to China, so a more expensive yuan could help Indonesia sell more clothes and enable China to buy even more wood, palm oil and natural gas. The bid by CNOOC for the US oil company Unocal, though unsuccessful, also signaled a Chinese desire to invest in natural resources in Indonesia, where many of Unocal's gas reserves are, analysts say.
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