Ge (Edwin) Chen, Gautam Chhaochharia & team
UBS
First-place appearances: 0

Total appearances: 11

Team debut: 2002

Newcomer Ge (Edwin) Chen, who works out of Hong Kong, joins Mumbai-based Gautam Chhaochharia as co-leader of UBS’s squad, which captures No. 3 for a third year running. The analysts provide “the best depth of coverage, especially in India and China,” one client declares. “They do more detailed work on stocks where there’s a real lack of coverage.” One of the team’s current favorites is Gome Electrical Appliances Holding, a home appliances and consumer electronics retailer that is headquartered in Hong Kong and operates throughout China. Gome successfully turned around its operations in 2013, posting a profit of 892 million yuan ($144 million) after a loss of 596.6 million yuan a year earlier, and the analysts see further gains ahead. Contributing to the bottom line, they advise, are store upgrades; improvements to procurement, logistics and supply-chain platforms; and the integration of its online and offline businesses. Their target price for the stock is HK$2.11; it was trading at HK$1.45 in late April. They also like India’s Voltas, which provides engineering and general contracting services throughout the region. The company boasts a “solid balance sheet, high return ratios and a largely net cash profile,” Lau says. Moreover, given its strong exposure in India and the Middle East, the analysts expect Voltas to benefit from “any investment cycle improvement in these markets, especially its retail air-conditioning business,” he adds. “New orders from international [markets] will be a key positive.” Priced at 168 rupees in late April, the shares have an upside of 10.1 percent, the researchers project.

See also Gautam Chhaochharia's profile in the 2013 All-Asia Research Team and the 2012 All-Asia Research Team.