Industries — Health Care & Pharmaceuticals: Third

Hidekatsu Watanabe advances from runner-up to third place; the Mizuho Securities Group analyst also claims a runner-up spot in OTC & Small Companies. “He has the deepest knowledge about the industry and regulation, and therefore his investment opinion is influential,” declares one buy-side supporter. Fiscal 2013, which began this month, should be a good year for the sector, in general, and particularly for companies in domestic medical equipment and care industries, as well as those in export-related medical device fields, Watanabe says. “This stems from a number of factors, including robust capital investments, which have given substantial improvements to medical institutions’ financial situations; an increased number of people needing to use services provided by care businesses, as a result of Japan’s aging population; and a boost in medical device businesses’ ability to compete internationally, thanks to a weaker yen,” the researcher explains. Current recommendations include Tokyo’s Paramount Bed Holdings Co., owing to strong demand from hospitals for replacement beds, and Tsukui Corp., on the Yokohama-based nursing home operator’s robust earnings and strong growth prospects. — Leslie Kramer