Ilze Roux & team
Bank of America
Merrill Lynch
Rising one rung to second place is the five-strong Bank of America Merrill Lynch squad helmed by Ilze Roux, who also leads the No. 2 team in Transportation. The crew, with analysts in Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, covers 16 stocks. “Trading conditions remain challenging for contractors across the region,” Roux notes. “Therefore, we prefer early-cyclical plays such as cement in markets with favorable supply and demand dynamics, pricing power and a long-term need for infrastructure development.” One example is Nigeria’s Dangote Cement, which is well positioned to benefit from demand growth in Nigeria and other African countries, she says. The researchers also like Turkish construction company Enka Insaat ve Sanayi, noting that it is “a value stock that offers attractive fixed assets in Russia, visible cash flows from Turkish power activities and a free option on a recovery in contracting,” Roux explains. — Leslie Kramer