< The 2015 All-Asia Research Team
Sheng-Jung (Robert) Cheng, Chuan-Hsiang (Katherine) Hu & team
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
First-place appearances: 0
Total appearances: 15
Team debut: 1998
It’s three consecutive years in third place for Sheng-Jung (Robert) Cheng, Chuan-Hsiang (Katherine) Hu and their Bank of America Merrill Lynch teammates. Clients hail the ten Taipei-based analysts for what one backer describes as their “solid knowledge and prompt responses to questions.” They monitor some 100 companies, up 20 percent over the past year, and among the new names under coverage is PChome Online, an Internet media company headquartered in Taipei that they recommend investors buy. The researchers began reporting on the e-commerce provider last June with a positive view, citing margin expansion, rapid revenue growth, rising capacity from new warehouses and an increasing number of affiliate companies. By the end of last month, PChome’s stock had bolted 117.8 percent, to 521 New Taiwan dollars, while the domestic market gained 10.6 percent. This year Cheng also directs, with Shiang (Robin) Cheng, the No. 2 crew on the Technology/Hardware lineup; while Hu makes her first appearance as a captain, with Cheng (Charles) Zhou, of the firm’s Insurance squad, which repeats in second place on that list.