< The 2016 All-Asia Research Team

Total appearances: 9

Team debut: 2006

A runner-up in its eight previous appearances on this roster, Nomura cracks the top three this year, claiming third place. Changwon Chung oversees this squad and leads the No. 3 crew on the Hardware lineup; with Ashwin Mehta, he directs the firm’s IT Services & Software researchers to a runner-up spot. He has been with the firm since 2009 and previously worked at Lehman Brothers and Daewoo Securities. The 46-year-old researcher holds an undergraduate degree in biochemistry from South Korea’s Yonsei University and a graduate degree from Yonsei’s business school. Regarding the region’s semiconductors names, Chung and his five teammates — based in Hong Kong, Seoul and Taipei — project that the DRAM market will not turn around until next year, while the NAND industry should start to recover from the second quarter of this year. “However, we think there may be possible oversupply risk from 3-D NAND and Chinese entry beyond 2018,” he says, noting that China’s state-owned enterprises are trying to build significant capacity in the field, possibly through the acquisition of global technology corporates. Since differentiation within the regionwide industry is rising, the analysts prefer such first-tier companies as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea and caution clients to stay away from second-tier players. The team, which follows 16 names, wins kudos from one enthusiast for its “superior analysis and timely information.”