The buy side says: “He’s very responsive to my questions and often supplies me with customized data.”
Hailed by one backer for his “frequent research reports and very good data,” Nomura’s Jiong Shao debuts at the top; he also finishes third in Infrastructure & Transportation.
Shao, 41, upgraded Lonking Holdings, a construction-machinery manufacturer headquartered in Longyan, Fujian, from sell to buy in February 2009, at HK$1.88. The reason: “Our channel checks confirmed a pickup in demand for Lonking’s products,” he says. The stock shot up a stunning 154.3 percent, to HK$4.78, through May 2010 and blew past the sector by 109.9 percentage points.
Shao holds two master’s degrees, earned in the U.S.: a 1994 MS in engineering from the University of Alaska and a 2000 MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business in North Carolina. After earning his MBA he joined Lehman Brothers as a technology analyst, first in New York and then in Hong Kong.
Second Team
Kate Zhu Morgan Stanley
Kate Zhu at Morgan Stanley, who takes second-team honors, garners plaudits from investors for her coverage of the automobile industry, diesel-engine manufacturers and the power sector. “She understands markets and brings in ideas that we have not thought about,” says one buy-side enthusiast. Zhu, who also is ranked third in Consumer/Discretionary, in March reiterated her overweight rating on Haitian International Holdings, a Hong Kong–based manufacturer of plastic-molding machines for the automotive and home-appliances industries, on the belief that the company would continue to enjoy strong growth and pick up market share. The stock had zipped from HK$4.15 to HK$5.73 by the end of May, a gain of 38.1 percent.
Third Team
Ye (Victoria) Li Credit Suisse
Ye (Victoria) Li wins third-place honors. Clients praise the Credit Suisse analyst for providing “extensive coverage and good calls” and being “always friendly and very prompt with her responses and clarifications.” Li upgraded China High Speed Transmission Equipment Group Co. from neutral to overweight in April, at HK$16.88, on valuation. Shares of the Hong Kong–based transmission-equipment manufacturer had risen 8.1 percent by the end of May, to HK$18.24, and led the sector by 21.3 percentage points.
Runner-Up
Tingting (Tina) Li BNP Paribas Securities (Asia)
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View the complete results of the 2010 All-China Research Team Rankings