Sunil Tirumalai
Credit Suisse
First-place appearances: 0

Total appearances: 2

Analyst debut: 2012

A runner-up a year ago, Sunil Tirumalai of Credit Suisse leaps to second place. Dubbed by one money manager “very diligent” and “conscious of clients’ needs,” Tirumalai is advising investors that the industry’s business fundamentals and regulatory environment are improving. Wireless data use is set to increase from low penetration levels, he explains, and further upside will follow merger and acquisition activity. In addition, the trading of wireless spectrum will “allow consolidation of spectrum holdings with the more efficient operators,” he says, thus creating value. Consequently, he is tracking the outcome of spectrum auctions (slated for January 2014), the ability of companies to sustain pricing discipline and the extent of consolidation the sector experiences. Tirumalai favors Bharti Airtel, based in New Delhi, and Idea Cellular, headquartered in Mumbai, because the sector’s bedrock economics will serve these mobile-services providers well. “Both companies have been gaining revenue market share,” he adds, “and in a scenario of rising tariffs, should see good profitability increases.” — Carolyn Koo