The 2014 All-Asia Research Team: Taiwan, No. 3: Sheng-Jung (Robert) Cheng, Chuan-Hsiang (Katherine) Hu & team

Repeating in third place is the Taipei-based Bank of America Merrill Lynch group

Sheng-Jung (Robert) Cheng, Chuan-Hsiang (Katherine) Hu & team
Deutsche Bank

First-place appearances: 0

Total appearances: 14

Team debut: 1998

Repeating in third place is the Taipei-based Bank of America Merrill Lynch group co-headed by Chuan-Hsiang (Katherine) Hu and Sheng-Jung (Robert) Cheng, who also directs the top-ranked squad in Technology/Hardware. This ten-strong team covers some 80 Taiwanese companies and is prized for “providing good corporate access,” in the words of one devotee, who singles out the researchers’ Technology & Beyond conference, hosted in Taipei each March. In June 2013 they upgraded Largan Precision Co. from neutral to buy, citing its low-cost production and the rising demand for the manufacturer’s optical lenses, which are used in digital cameras, tablet computers and smartphones. By late April shares of the Taichung-based supplier had rocketed 96 percent, to 1,875 New Taiwan dollars, trouncing Taiwan’s broad market by 87.7 percentage points. Another current favorite of the BofA Merrill troupe is AirTac International Group. The analysts began reporting on this China-headquartered maker of pneumatic components last June, assigning a buy rating on the Taiwan-listed stock thanks to AirTac’s market-share gains and steady margin expansion. The shares took off, more than doubling by late April to close at NT$318, while over the same period Taiwan’s broad market rose 8 percent. Their target price for AirTac is NT$362.

See also Sheng-Jung (Robert) Cheng and Chuan-Hsiang (Katherine) Hu’s profile in the 2013 All-Asia Research Team.

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