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The group - recently selected as investment adviser for the Nordea 1 Far Eastern Equity fund - said that even though economic conditions continue to deteriorate worldwide, it remains confident in Asia, where strong balance sheets coupled with government intervention should allow the region to weather the storm.

It also said Asia remained in an "enviable fiscal position" to administer expansionary policies and that China, with its RMB 4trn (£393bn) stimulus measure, was already showing signs of 'landing', with the package likely to support the economy as early as this spring.

Tokio Marine said emergency measures adopted by global governments to restore solvency in financial institutions, such as the consumption coupon in Taiwan, should help reposition financial market pricing at a more rational level.

At the same time, it added, sharply lower commodity prices should provide a welcome relief for Asian stock markets as a whole.

Hiroshi Yoh, chief investment officer of Asia Pacific ex Japan strategy at Tokio Marine, said: "We maintain our view that risks for Asian equity are gradually shifting from downside toward upside.

"The MSCI AC Asia ex Japan index's trading range has been steadily trending up since October 2008, and it is believed this trend is likely to continue as the severity of negative global news flow ebbs."

He said the information technology sector was also beginning to look more stable and that Taiwan and Korea in particular were showing signs that "utilisation levels were gradually resuming to commercial levels".

Foreign investors, who were major sellers of Asian equity in 2008, have also turned to be net buyers, or neutral at least since January 2008, as redemptions have been less than anticipated, he said.

At the same time, high cash levels within portfolios have enabled some managers to buy into Asian equity to capture the attractive valuations with sanguine medium-term prospects.

For the medium to long-term view, Yoh said the Asia ex Japan region continued to offer attractive growth opportunities via companies such as Samsung Electronics in South Korea, Singapore Airlines in Singapore and PT Astra in Indonesia.

He said: "At a time when any loss of returns is keenly felt by investors, pension funds can no longer rely on passively managed strategies to capture these growth opportunities.

"Particularly for Asia, an active management approach is key to unlocking potential areas of growth and positive return through a deep understanding of the local dynamics at work in the various individual counties and companies."