< The 2015 All-Asia Research Team
Total appearances: 8
Team debut: 2000Morgan Stanley’s 50-strong China crew repeats in second place, this time under the sole direction of Hong Kong–based Hong (Helen) Qiao, 37. Her former co-captain, Ran (Richard) Xu, now monitors Chinese banks and brokerages for the firm. Qiao and her teammates report on 350 names and deem China Life Insurance Co. among the best in the group. In May 2014 they noted that the Beijing-based insurer’s cash-flow pressures were easing as maturity payments declined, so the analysts boosted their rating on the stock from equal weight to overweight. Good call. The shares soon found their footing, and by the end of last month, China Life had rocketed 172.6 percent, to 38.06 yuan, outperforming China’s broad market by 135.3 percentage points. Looking ahead, they recommend that investors also favor Hebei’s Great Wall Motor Co., largely owing to the manufacturer’s leading position in China’s sport utility vehicle market. The stock closed April at 52.64 yuan, and the researchers believe that a price of 60 yuan is justified. “Their strategy suggestions have helped our performance,” affirms one money manager.
