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The 2013 All-China Research Team: Conglomerates, Third: Man Chuen (Benjamin) Lo
Man Chuen (Benjamin) Lo seizes the No. 3 spot for a third year running. A preferred name among the eight conglomerates the Nomura analyst monitors is Hong Kong–based MTR Corp. Lo added the mass transit systems builder and operator to his sector portfolio in July 2012 with a counterconsensus buy rating. He has deemed the shares bargain-priced and has reiterated his position periodically as the company’s profit growth has beaten expectations. MTR “will benefit from new railway openings,” he says, as well as growing demand for its office, parking lot and retail rental properties. By the end of October 2013, the stock had advanced 17.3 percent, to HK$30.05. Since September 2012, Lo also has been urging investors to buy Hong Kong–based Hutchison Whampoa. The conglomerate — whose business interests range from infrastructure and property development to port and leisure property management, and financial and telecommunications services — is to be favored, he says, because it has been delivering double-digit earnings increases. Through October 2013 the stock soared 37.5 percent, to HK$96.60, besting the sector by 18 percentage points. Lo maintains his buy rating. “His reasonable, well-considered voice is the one we trust,” one loyalist reports. — Ben Mattlin |