< The 2015 All-Asia Research Team
Total appearances: 9
Team debut: 1997In its strongest showing on this lineup to date, Bank of America Merrill Lynch secures second place, rising from the No. 3 position it held the past three years. Simon Garing became deputy head of Asia-Pacific research in mid-2014, and now the 15-person troupe is helmed by Chi Hung (Raymond) Ngai, 47, and 43-year-old Cheong-Ga (Karl) Choi, who makes his first appearance. The analysts report on more than 100 stocks from outposts in Australia, Hong Kong, India, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. In Hong Kong, they advise, developers with large housing holdings should benefit from the strong primary market there. For that reason they look favorably on Sun Hung Kai Properties, which has the largest residential land bank of the local property players. Among mainland names the researchers prefer China Resources Land, thanks to its low stock valuation and management’s efforts to build its rental portfolio. “Their daily commentary on the China property sector always provides perspective on whatever the latest development happens to be,” one advocate notes. This year Ngai also heads, with Angello Chan, the No. 2 team on the Hong Kong roster. Newcomer Choi graduated from New York University with a bachelor’s degree in business in 1994 and has worked in research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and its predecessor firms ever since.