Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell, led by exporters such as Samsung Electronics Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., on concern that the value of their overseas sales may be eroded after the dollar dropped against regional currencies.

``Companies with overseas exposure are going to be taking a hit,'' said Takeshi Yamaguchi, who helps manage the equivalent of $100 billion at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. The dollar decline is ``going to squeeze their profit margins.''

South Korea's Kospi index slipped 1.1 percent to 977.80 at the 3 p.m. close in Seoul, snapping its longest winning streak in five months. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 0.5 percent to 11,597.71 and the Topix retreated 0.4 percent. Both benchmarks had their biggest declines since Jan. 20.

Central Glass Co., Citizen Watch Co. and Venture Corp. paced losses by electronic parts makers after earnings disappointed some investors. Singapore's Straits Times Index sank 0.9 percent, its biggest drop in almost 11 weeks. The Philippines benchmark had the region's biggest decline, losing 1.5 percent.

All other benchmarks in the region open for trading fell, except for China, whose indexes were Asia's best performers, and Indonesia, Thailand and India. Consumer prices in China last month rose at the slowest pace in more than a year, making an interest rate rise to curb inflation less likely.

Exporters Fall

South Korea's won climbed to its strongest since November 1997, advancing more than any other Asian currency against the dollar today. The currency gained after a Reuters report that the central bank would sell some dollars and buy other currencies.

The U.S. currency also had its biggest drop in a week against the yen, taking the Japanese currency to as high as 104.52 yen in Asian trading.

A lower U.S. currency means exporters get less for their dollar-denominated sales while their products become less competitive.

Samsung Electronics, South Korea's biggest exporter, declined 1.1 percent to 522,000 won. According to Samsung, when the value of the local currency gains 100 won per dollar, it drains about 2 trillion won ($1.9 billion) from its annual operating profit.

Toyota, the world's biggest automaker by market value, lost 1 percent to 4,090 yen. The automaker's annual operating profit drops about 20 billion yen ($190 million) for every 1 yen the yen gains against the dollar, according to an estimate by Credit Suisse First Boston Japan Inc.

`Negative Impact'

``The stronger won will have a negative impact on exporters' earnings,'' said Cho Min Kun, who helps manage the equivalent of $246 million at Kyobo Investment Trust Management Co. in Seoul.

Other exporters fell. Hynix Semiconductor Inc., the world's second-largest maker of memory chips for computers, slid 6.2 percent to 15,200 won. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's largest supplier of made-to-order computer chips, declined 0.9 percent to NT$54. The company counts on the U.S. for about three-quarters of its revenue. The island's benchmark index dropped 0.4 percent.

Earnings concerns also weighed on stocks. Central Glass dropped 5.2 percent to 697 yen. After the market closed yesterday, the company cut its full-year net income forecast 10 percent to 11.7 billion yen, citing increased fuel costs and slowing demand for electronics.

Citizen Watch, Japan's biggest watchmaker, lost 3.4 percent to 954 yen after cutting its full-year profit forecast 9.3 percent to 19.5 billion yen because of lower-than-expected sales from its watch and electronic-equipment businesses.

Venture, BlueScope

Venture slipped 3.8 percent to S$15.40. Singapore's biggest publicly traded maker of electronics said fourth-quarter profit fell 36 percent to S$47.4 million on a drop in printer sales. The median estimate of five analysts in a Bloomberg survey was for profit of S$56 million. Venture's full-year profit slipped 14 percent to S$240.4 million, its first decline in annual earnings.

In Australia, BlueScope, the country's largest steelmaker, lost 2.7 percent to A$9.93. Macquarie Equities Ltd. cut its rating on the company, saying BlueScope's share price doesn't reflect future earnings growth.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index, which tracks more than 900 companies in the region and is denominated in U.S. dollars, gained 0.3 percent to 101.71.

An industry measure on the MSCI index tracking energy stocks was the best performer, adding 1.2 percent.

Oil Stocks

Origin Energy Ltd., Australia's second-largest energy retailer, led the gains, jumped 5.1 percent to A$7.22. The company said it sold A$641 million of shares at A$5.70 apiece to buy back preferred stock and cut debt.

Regional oil-related shares also advanced after crude oil prices in London rose 0.9 percent to $46.77 a barrel, the highest in more than three weeks, as colder weather boosted heating-fuel use in Europe and the U.S.

Santos Ltd., Australia's third-biggest oil producer, gained 1.5 percent to A$9.12. S-Oil Corp., South Korea's third-largest oil refiner, climbed 4.3 percent to 73,000 won.

In China, the Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks yuan- denominated A shares and foreign-currency B shares on the city's stock exchange, jumped 1.9 percent. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks the smaller of the two Chinese markets, advanced 2.6 percent, the highest since Dec. 22.

Consumer prices gained 1.9 percent last month from a year earlier, the smallest gain since October 2003, the Beijing-based statistics bureau said. Improved harvests stemmed food price gains, allaying concerns of interest rate hikes.

`Bear Fruit'

China United Telecommunications Corp., which controls the nation's second-largest cell phone operator, rose 1.2 percent to 3.28 yuan. Heilongjiang Agriculture Co., a unit of China's biggest crop grower, surged 3.2 percent to 6.43 yuan.

``The government's efforts to reign in growth are starting to bear fruit,'' said Wang Chuang, a Tokyo-based fund manager who helps oversee Chinese investments among the $58 billion of assets at Nikko Asset Management Co. ``Still, the domestic economy remains quite strong.''

Among the best performers in the region, Shionogi Co., creator of the cholesterol reducer Crestor, jumped 4 percent to 1,391 yen, set for their biggest gain since November after Morgan Stanley Japan Ltd. raised its rating on the company.

BlueScope Steel Ltd. (BSL AU)
Central Glass Co. (4044 JT)
China United Telecommunications Corp. (600050 CH)
Citizen Watch Co. (7762 JT)
Heilongjiang Agriculture Co. (600598 CH)
Hynix Semiconductor Inc. (000660 KS)
Origin Energy Ltd. (ORG AU)
Samsung Electronics Co. (005930 KS)
Santos Ltd. (STO AU)
S-Oil Corp. (010950 KS)
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (2330 TT)
Toyota Motor Corp. (7203 JT)
Venture Corp. (VMS SP)

To contact the reporters on this story: Tomoko Yamazaki in Tokyo at tyamazaki@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: February 22, 2005 04:46 EST