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Hoe Kiat (Patrick) Yau & team |
Citi |
First-Place Appearances: 4 Total Appearances: 11 Team Debut: 2004 |
Citi jumps from third place to finish on top for the first time since 2009. Under the guidance of Hoe Kiat (Patrick) Yau, who assumed leadership of this squad in 2011, five analysts in Singapore are aided by another five across Hong Kong and Jakarta in keeping sights on 59 Singaporean names. “Their reports are detailed, insightful and thought provoking,” one fund manager relays, singling out a July piece about local consumer debt, which they noted had reached new highs. In the same dispatch the researchers named SMRT Corp. as one stock they do not favor. That elevated debt would likely drive an economic slowdown, they advised, which in turn would subdue the public transportation operator’s performance. Sure enough, SMRT’s shares had slumped 11.3 percent by late April, to 1.26 Singapore dollars, trailing the country’s broad market by 15.3 percentage points. On the positive side, Yau and his teammates in December forecast an improved operating environment for exporters, thanks to rebounding economies in Europe and the U.S. At the same time, long-standing favorite Wilmar International, an agribusiness giant that is among the world’s largest producers of palm oil, was reining in its capital expenditures and enjoying increasing demand for it biodiesel products. Against this backdrop, they dubbed Wilmar a top pick, at S$3.38, and by late April its stock had climbed to S$3.51, though it lagged the sector by 1.2 percentage points. The Citi crew continues to favor the name, maintaining a 12-month price objective of S$3.95. “They are experienced and knowledgeable in both macro and sector research,” avers another backer. Forty-two-year-old Yau, who also leads a team that earns a runner-up position for its coverage of Malaysia, joined the firm in 2010 from Macquarie Securities, where he covered Singapore equities. Yau holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and information systems from the National University of Singapore in 1994. |
