Forget bitcoin, here are four shares that have risen more than 1,000% this year

Lesser-known companies trading on stock exchanges in Japan, Hong Kong and India have seen their share prices soar at least tenfold

Bitcoin is all the rage, but there are also a handful of stocks that have equalled the digital currency’s gravity-defying surge this year.

Lesser-known companies trading on stock exchanges in Japan, Hong Kong and India have seen their share prices soar at least 1,000 per cent, matching the cryptocurrency’s ascent. A screening of global equities shows just four of these stocks after excluding those with insufficient trading volume, tiny capitalsations or from troubled Venezuela.

The first is Pepper Food Service, a restaurant chain in Japan known for its steaks and pork cutlets, that’s seen its market value swell to more than $1bn from less than $100m at the start of this year.

Another is India’s HEG, which has ridden the boom in graphite electrodes, an essential component of electric arc furnaces that turn scrap into steel.

Steak has never tasted so good in Japan - if you're an investor (Getty Images)

Also in India, Indiabulls Ventures, a pioneer in online securities trading that’s building out its consumer lending business, is up 1,162 per cent.

Last but not least is China Investment Fund, which trades in Hong Kong.

Bitcoin's rise has taken many, including big bank bosses, by surprise

That’s a turnaround story of an investment firm which holds stakes in a gold mine and an auto parts company in China.

The stock, up the most among the four with a 1,230 per cent climb, was added to the MSCI Global Small Cap Index this month.

Bloomberg