Hiroki Kawashima
SMBC Nikko Securities
SMBC Nikko Securities’ Hiroki Kawashima rises from runner-up to third place. “He keeps his thumb on the pulse of the market,” affirms one asset manager in Shanghai, highlighting a September upgrade of Haseko Corp. from neutral to outperform, at ¥49. Kawashima correctly anticipated a recovery in the condominium market ahead of consumption tax increases. By mid-February, when he reduced it back to neutral, on valuation, the Tokyo-based condo builder’s stock had soared 67.3 percent, to ¥82, and beat the sector by 52.4 percentage points. The stock climbed to ¥89 in mid-March. Kawashima, who reports on 12 companies, is currently urging clients to buy subcontractors such as Taikisha, an air conditioning supplier headquartered in Tokyo, “because of steady earnings,” he says. — Ben Mattlin