< The 2015 All-Asia Research Team
Total appearances: 17
Team debut: 1994“This is an experienced team,” observes one client of Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s 11-strong group in Bangkok. Supavud Saicheua and Therapong Vachirapong pilot their crew back up to the top after a year in second place. Saicheua, 58, first appeared on this roster in 2001, and Vachirapong, 50, debuted last year. He has been with BofA Merrill since 1993 — having worked previously as a marketing manager for his family’s food-production business — and holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance from Thailand’s Thammasat University. From their Bangkok headquarters, the analysts actively track 73 Thai companies and plan to expand coverage of small- and midcap names in the year ahead, partly to meet growing demand from domestic clients. “They have a strong local feel,” attests one portfolio manager in Europe. In January they raised their rating on Bangkok’s IRPC from underperform to buy, advising that the petrochemicals producer was delivering margin expansion and enjoying cost reductions from lower refinery and crude-oil prices. The stock subsequently leaped 36.1 percent, through April, rising to 4.60 baht while the Thai equities overall were flat. For the future BofA Merrill’s researchers favor CP All, a Bangkok-based convenience store operator, anticipating a recovery in same-store sales growth on rising consumer trends. Their target price for the shares is 47.50 baht, which implies a 13.1 percent upside to their value at the end of April.
