The buy side says: “Ning Ma is fast in addressing issues arising in the market.”
Debuting in first place is Ning Ma of Goldman Sachs (Asia), who joined the firm in 2003 after earning an MBA at the London Business School. Before that the 38-year-old analyst worked as a regulator at the Beijing headquarters of the People’s Bank of China for about five years. Thanks to this experience, “he has more insightful interpretations of certain policies,” one buy-side enthusiast says, and is better than other analysts at determining how those policies will affect stock prices.
In February 2009, Ma upgraded Bank of China from neutral to buy, at HK$1.84, believing that markets had been too bearish regarding the impact of the global meltdown on the Beijing-based institution’s earnings and balance sheet. Since Ma’s upgrade the shares climbed 110.9 percent, to HK$3.88, and outperformed the sector by 41.5 percentage points, through May 2010.
Second Team
Simon Ho Citi
Citi’s Simon Ho takes second-place honors. “His view is more long term, and he’s more focused on fundamentals than others,” explains one money manager. In May 2009, Ho listed China Citic Bank Corp. as one of his top picks, telling clients that the Hong Kong–based commercial lender was undervalued and that its strong loan growth ensured a boost to the share price. He was right. By the end of May 2010, the stock had gained 25.9 percent, from HK$4.61 to HK$4.66, and bested the sector by 5.8 percentage points.
Third Team
Junhua Mao China International Capital Corp.
Junhua Mao of China International Capital Corp. clinches the third-place spot. “He does a very good job in identifying the differences between banks, which enables good stock selection,” cheers one investor. One example: In March 2009, Mao published a report recommending Bank of Communications Co., at HK$4.45, underscoring the Shanghai-based outfit’s strong growth prospects. BoComm’s shares shot up 85.6 percent, to HK$8.26, through May 2010.
Runners-Up
Shun (Samuel) Chen J.P. Morgan; Lucy Feng Nomura; Yi (Winnie) Wu BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research; Meizhi (May) Yan Nomura
To read the article, click on The 2010 All-China Research Team Rankings Released
View the complete results of the 2010 All-China Research Team Rankings