< The 2016 All-Asia Research Team
Hoe Kiat (Patrick) Yau & team
Citi
First-place appearances: 4
Total appearances: 13
Team debut: 2004
After tumbling from first place to runner-up last year, Hoe Kiat (Patrick) Yau and his Citi crew in Singapore rebound to second place. The nine researchers work with four colleagues throughout the region and report on 54 names. One of their favorites in that universe is Singapore Telecommunications, dubbed a top pick in December. A majority owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, SingTel is a leading communications group and among the largest companies listed on the Singapore Exchange. They credit, in particular, the diversity of its earnings stream, thanks to its holdings in operations in Australia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. As of late April the shares had climbed 5 percent, to 3.97 Singapore dollars, compared with the 3.6 percent and 1.2 percent gains posted by the domestic and regional markets, respectively. Citi’s analysts forecast a rise to S$4.40 before the end of this year. Yau, 44, also directs the firm’s coverage of Malaysian equities and pilots his crew in that sector to a seventh consecutive appearance at runner-up. “Patrick has long-standing and deep knowledge, which makes him helpful to talk to about the backgrounds of various companies and personnel,” avers one fund manager.