Although he slips one spot to third place, Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Yongtao Shi garners praise for providing “value-added analyses, especially of the steel world,” as one portfolio manager puts it. The researcher monitors a dozen companies, and in November 2012 he reiterated his underperform rating on the sector, citing pressures from overcapacity and increasing raw-materials costs. Steel producers were being squeezed in particular, he noted, by rising production and falling prices. He therefore also highlighted his underperform stance on Anshan-based Angang Steel Co. and Maanshan Iron and Steel Co., which is headquartered in Maanshan. By mid-July the shares had fallen 14.8 and 5.4 percent, while the sector had plunged 31.3 percent and broad market had declined 4.3 percent. Those sell-offs in the shares, in addition to easing of cost pressures from declining iron-ore prices and rising demand from government rail projects, prompted him to upgrade the steel producers to buy. In late September, as steel prices were dropping and with Angang up 20 percent and Maanshan Iron ahead 11.5 percent, he downgraded them back to underperform. By the end of the following month, the former had inched up to HK$4.70 and the latter had risen to HK$1.98, both in line with the sector and the broad market. — Ben Mattlin RUNNER(S)-UP Ching Jen (James) Kan Diwu (Julian) Zhu |
