< The 2015 All-Japan Research Team
Shigeki Matsumoto
Nomura
First-place appearances: 1
Total appearances: 7
Team debut: 2009
A runner-up a year ago, Shigeki Matsumoto advances to third place, the position he most recently held in 2011. Crude oil prices are a hot topic, as expected, and the Nomura researcher is forecasting that they will rise in the second half of this year, thanks to improved supply-demand dynamics. He is recommending that investors buy Showa Shell Sekiyu, advising that the Tokyo-based importer, refiner and distributor of petroleum and petroleum products boasts a strong balance sheet as well as oil product margin improvement and has been reaping the advantages of lower crude oil prices. Matsumoto, 45, is also bullish on Tokyo Gas Co., Japan’s largest natural gas utility. The company is benefiting from lower prices for liquefied natural gas and expanding its pipeline to areas north of Tokyo, he notes. At a sectorwide level he is tracking the legislature’s discussions of power and gas market reforms, which could lead to customers’ gaining the opportunity to purchase relevant goods and services from any supplier. New players could enter the market, in such a case, with tariffs decided by supply-demand balances, the analyst adds.
