Then Japan’s corporates were also in the spotlight as the new Corporate Governance Code aimed to improve relations with shareholders.

Both developments appear to be opening up the region to UK investors, who may have been put off by stories of the slowdown in China’s growth and fears that Japan is mired in a deflationary economic cycle and a closed corporate culture.

Peter Sartori, head of Asian equity at Nikko Asset Management, points out the MSCI AC Asia ex-Japan index returned 7.2 per cent in April this year, “shrugging off initial weakness”. It outperformed the MSCI AC World index by 2.3 per cent in the month in US dollar terms, according to his monthly outlook.

China was the best-performing market in April, followed by Hong Kong, while Indonesia was the worst-performing Asian market during the month.

Robert Rountree, global strategist at Eastspring Investments, still sees good value in China and Japan.

“Japan in particular looks strong; valuations are in line with their 10-year average, with forward earnings forecast to rise 15 per cent,” he explains. “This compares more than favourably with Europe, where valuations are stretched even though earnings are forecast to rise by more than 16 per cent in the coming 12 months.”

But he suggests the corporate sector’s extensive restructuring is the “real story” in Japan. He adds: “The extent of this restructuring has escaped the notice of many investors, which may help explain why so many companies are trading below book price.”

Neither is China’s rally over, Mr Rountree believes. “Valuations are not only still below their 10-year average but also the People’s Bank of China has plenty of fire-power aimed at offsetting slowing growth.

“The authorities recently shifted their focus from restraining fiscal policy to increasing infrastructure spending, and enacting their own version of [the US Federal Reserve’s] Operation Twist – reducing short-term liquidity while increasing long-term liquidity.”

UK investors continued to pile into Asian equities in April, the latest Investment Association figures show. Asian equity funds were the third best-selling by region in April, with net retail sales of £111m, their highest level since September 2014.

Where the region is better positioned than its western counterparts is in terms of government funding.

Paul Hilsley, manager of the L&G Asian Income Trust, observes: “Government finances in Asia continue to compare well with their western peers, and some countries in the region retain good scope to manage their economies through the turmoil of global economics.

“The fall in oil prices has allowed central banks to ease materially, resulting in a number of interest-rate cuts in an effort to support growth, such as we’ve seen by India, Australia and Thailand.

“There remains substantial scope for worthwhile investment by Asia Pacific governments. There is a material need for better roads and rail, schools and hospitals that will make a substantial improvement to living and productivity.”

Ellie Duncan is deputy features editor at Investment Adviser