Trina Chen Credit Suisse
The buy side says: “She is simply one of the best analysts covering metals and materials stocks.”
Trina Chen of Credit Suisse debuts in first place, thanks in part to “her in-depth knowledge and good calls,” according to one portfolio manager. One example of the latter: Chen upgraded Yanzhou Coal Mining Co. from neutral to outperform last August, at HK$12.40, on rising coal prices. Shares of the Jining, Shandong–based outfit had soared to HK$18.06 by late May, a gain of 45.6 percent that outpaced the sector by 68.3 percentage points. Chen joined Credit Suisse in 2004 after two years as an equity analyst at Merrill Lynch. She earned a Ph.D. in applied physics at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Second Team
Song Shen Goldman Sachs (Asia)
Song Shen claims second place. The analyst, who moved from Goldman Sachs (Asia) to JF Asset Management in March, “correctly called how demand would lead companies out of the recession,” according to one portfolio manager. One eye-catching call was his May 2009 upgrade from neutral to buy on Hidili Industry International Development, at HK$4.48, after channel checks with construction companies, property developers and commodities traders showed that government infrastructure spending and property construction were boosting demand for steel. Shares of the Panzhihua, Sichuan–based producer of coking coal, a commodity essential in the manufacture of steel, had shot up 109.8 percent, to HK$9.40, by early December, and Shen downgraded the stock to neutral, on valuation. Since then it slipped 26.6 percent, to HK$6.90, through May.
Third Team
Diwu (Julian) Zhu Deutsche Bank
In third place is Deutsche Bank’s Diwu (Julian) Zhu. “He is always traveling to mines, steel factories and cement plants, which gives him more insight on the aggregate picture,” cheers one backer. In November, Zhu downgraded China’s third-largest steel producer, Maanshan Iron & Steel Co., from neutral to sell, at $5.09, after a weeklong field trip to the provinces of Beijing, Shaanxi, Sichuan and Xinjiang convinced him that supply was exceeding demand. “We were the first on the Street to flag to the investors the potential threat of oversupply on steel stocks’ performances,” he says. By the end of May, Maanshan’s share price had tumbled 25.5 percent, to HK$3.79.
Runners-Up
Andrew Driscoll CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets; Shuai (Bruce) Wang BNP Paribas Securities (Asia)
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
