< The 2014 All-China Research Team

Total Appearances: 3

Analyst Debut: 2012

For a second consecutive year, Nomura’s Leping Huang, 39, rules this roost. He is upbeat on the prospects for the semiconductors and smart drives subsectors, deeming them “the next structural growth opportunity in the next few years in the Chinese technology industry.” Semiconductors in particular should perform well, he believes, given demand for the components’ use in personal computers, smartphones and televisions — even as the country’s semiconductor providers command less than 5 percent of the global market. Moreover, in October the Chinese government established an investment fund to support capacity expansion for the domestic integrated-circuit industry as well as overseas M&A activity, with the goal of tripling the segment’s revenue by 2020, adds Huang, who works out of Hong Kong. His top recommendations are Sunny Optical Technology Group Co. and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. Sunny Optical, headquartered in Yuyao, is the world’s largest producer of lenses for vehicles and smart-car chipset vendors, he notes, and is likely to increase earnings by more than 30 percent. Meanwhile, Shanghai’s SMIC, the biggest semiconductors foundry in China, is expected to enjoy strong growth on the back of demand from local integrated-circuit design houses and a breakthrough in 28-nanometer process technology, advises Huang.