JPMorgan starts Jardine Matheson (J36.SG), Jardine Strategic (J37.SG) at Neutral with respective US$45.80 ($61.98), US$23.65 target prices, according to Dow Jones.

JPMorgan says both stocks trading near historical averages, but still deemed as cheaper alternatives to directly investing in their more expensive subsidiaries, such as Dairy Farm (D01.SG), Hongkong Land (H78.SG), Astra International (ASII.JK).

Research house prefers Matheson over Strategic given its better trading liquidity, higher dividend yield. Says most core businesses of Matheson, 53%-owned by Strategic, should benefit from Asia’s solid domestic demand this year, but earnings growth likely to slow in 2011-2012 given expected cyclical peak in Astra’s vehicle sales, fewer development property bookings for Hongkong Land.

Matheson off 0.1% at US$43.34, Strategic off 0.5% at US$24.76. STI +0.7%.