Fast Retailing, the Japanese operator of the casual clothing chain Uniqlo, has narrowed the gap against Zara, the global apparel leader in market value, as investors applaud the company's major presence in China.

While apparel sales are down sharply in the U.S. and Europe, Zara's main markets, as the coronavirus pandemic takes its toll, the decline is relatively mild in Asia where Fast Retailing is focused on. Their share prices appear to be factoring in this reality.

Fast Retailing had a market capitalization of 6.53 trillion yen ($60.9 billion) last week, data from QUICK FactSet show. This compares with Inditex's market cap of around 9.17 trillion yen.

The market capitalization of Zara parent Inditex was once roughly 300 per cent larger than that of Fast Retailing as recently as summer 2017. Now the gap is about 40 per cent.