Takato Watabe Deutsche Securities The buy side says: “He has a clear grasp of the technical changes going on in this space.”
Jumping one tier to the pinnacle of the roster is Deutsche Securities’ Takato Watabe, 43. A February 2010 upgrade of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp. from hold to buy, at ¥402, largely on the recent downsizing of its unprofitable petrochemicals business, proved wise. Earnings at the Tokyo-based developer of pharmaceuticals and electric-car components ballooned, and through February 2011 the stock leapt 48.5 percent, to ¥597, shooting past the sector by 37.9 percentage points. “His recommendation about Mitsubishi Chemical really helped our performance,” cheers one buy-side backer. In October, Watabe raised Nitto Denko Corp. from hold to buy, at ¥3,115, on the strength of its display-screen coatings. Through February shares of the high-tech-materials maker, which is headquartered in Osaka, bolted 58.1 percent, to ¥4,925. Watabe “came in with a fantastic and early call on Nitto Denko — it was a really well-argued report with the vision to look forward and analyze where the company was going,” cheers one grateful investor. A 1989 graduate of Tokyo’s Rikkyo University with a bachelor’s degree in economics, Watabe joined Deutsche in 2003 from Merrill Lynch Japan Securities Co.
Polling and tabulation of data as well as reporting on the sector profiles were completed before the March 11 Tohoku earthquake.
