Andrew Foster is an avid skier who in his early days liked to fly down hills fast and furiously. Until he tore up his knee, that is. Now the Portland, Ore. native, who calls the San Francisco Bay Area home, takes to the slopes in a much more controlled manner.

That's what happens to you when you get old. At 36 Foster runs Matthews Asian Growth and Income Fund not too fast and furiously. Yes, he concedes, Asia's growth prospects are formidable. But investors who chase the region's hot stocks or sectors are missing the chance to earn a steady, controlled stream of dividend income as well as the prospect of capital gains. The $3.1 billion (assets) Matthews fund, which invests in Asia with the exception of Japan, boasts a dividend yield of 2.8%. Foster also comanages the $760 million Matthews Asia Dividend Fund, which has a 4.1% yield; that's considerably heftier than the S&P 500's yield of 1.8%.

"Speed is exhilarating, but survival is everything," says Foster. "If you're an income-oriented investor, Asia's [dividend] pool is vast and growing much faster than that in the U.S."

Foster looks for companies that will be able to sustain top- and bottom-line growth of at least high single digits for years to come. Taiwan Semiconductor fits the bill. With sales growing 5% to 20% annually until 2006 it was once a darling of the growth crowd. Last year its $9 billion in sales were down 11%. This is not a double black diamond stock. It has next to no debt and $4 billion in the till. Although it plans to hike capital spending over the next few years to make faster, smaller chips, it won't have to stretch to maintain its dividend, now yielding 4.5%, Foster says.

Foster is a seasoned Asia hand. Immediately after receiving a degree in public policy and economics from Stanford, he was lured to Singapore in 1996 by a job at AT Kearney. Foster jumped to Matthews two years later, where he has been ever since, save for 18 months spent earning an M.B.A. from Insead in France.

These days Foster focuses on quality investments. He holds stocks for an average of five years.

Singapore Technologies Engineering, which makes aerospace and defense systems, has expanded sales at a compound annual rate of 7% over the last three years and rewards investors with a 4.1% dividend. When military tensions mount, investors turn bearish but not on this stock.

When it comes to long-term trends that will boost specific sectors, Foster ranks domestic consumption tops. As an indication of how (and how quickly) markets are changing, Foster likes to show investors pictures of packed, well-stocked dairy aisles in supermarkets in China, where milk-based products are often thought to be scarce. In explaining India he shows images of people queuing for movies where tickets cost more than an average daily wage.

"This is conspicuous consumption, but it shows the aspirations for higher living standards," he says.

Television Broadcasts is another beneficiary of rising personal wealth. The broadcaster in Hong Kong derives the bulk of its revenues (2009: $4 billion) from ad spending. Foster believes it has good growth prospects and is soundly profitable. It pays a 4.5% dividend. After years when its signal was pirated in Guangdong, it's now getting paid by regional cable operators and is coproducing programs. That's to say nothing of the prospects for Chinese media growth if the Beijing cadres ever back off from their heavy-handedness.

For patient investors there should be more to Asia than high-flying Chinese property stocks. Foster, who has been running Matthews Asian Growth and Income since 2005, is still waiting for the payoff. His 11.5% average annual return compares to 14.5% a year for the MSCI All Country Asia ex-Japan Index. Expenses run 1.18% annually. For a list of Asian high-dividend stocks see the table below.

#### High-Yield Asia

The Matthews Asian Growth and Income Fund is yielding 2.8%. That's a far sight better than the 1.8% generated by the Standard & Poor's 500. The following are high-yielding Asian stocks available in the U.S.
|  | Price |  |  |
Company / Industry | Country | Recent | 52-week High | Dividend Yield | Market Value ($Bil) | 2010 Estimated PE
Shin Corp / telecom | Thailand | $2.85 | $3.65 | 9.8% | $2.3 | 9
Philippine Long Distance / telecom | Philippines | 52.43 | 61.06 | 6.5 | 9.8 | 11
SK Telecom / telecom | South Korea | 15.44 | 18.64 | 6.0 | 11.2 | 8
Vtech Holdings / telecom | Hong Kong | 98.06 | 119.09 | 5.8 | 2.4 | 11
Keppel / conglomerate | Singapore | 12.05 | 15.34 | 4.4 | 9.6 | 12
All figures are in U.S. dollars. Prices as of June 1. All companies trade in the U.S. as ADRs. Sources: Bloomberg; Interactive Data and Thomson Reuters IBES via FactSet Research Systems.