Awards

Credit Suisse’s head of metals and mining research, Trina Chen, is bullish on China’s steel and cement sectors but warns of a slowdown after the run of infrastructure projects is completed. She wins Asiamoney’s Brokers Poll as best materials analyst for a fourth year in a row.

Inflation is expected to become a factor next year, which would raise bottom-line costs and put the profitability of smaller firms under pressure, says CLSA’s consumer staples analyst Heather Hsu. She believes companies with a more diversified product base are in line to benefit.

Voted the best regional sales trader in Asiamoney’s Brokers Poll 2009, Ron Kwok believes there will be a consolidation and a slowdown in prices, but sees that as a healthy development.

CLSA’s Eric Fishwick, named best economist by voters in Asiamoney’s Brokers Poll 2009, believes people need to recognise that what we’re seeing now is an inventory cycle, not the start of another investment cycle.

Karen Chan of BoA-Merrill Lynch reflects on a volatile year but favours China and India firms on expectations that regulators will introduce reforms. She wins the inaugural award for best insurance analyst in Asiamoney’s Brokers Poll 2009.

Xiaopo Wei, the CLSA analyst voted top for consumer discretionary research in Asiamoney’s Brokers Poll 2009, says his job is to convince investors of fundamental value in difficult times, even if they do not want to listen.

Yi Wang of Goldman Sachs, who was voted best real estate analyst for the first time in Asiamoney’s Brokers Poll 2009, says the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta regions will outperform the rest of the country in terms of price and transaction value.

Citi energy analyst Graham Cunningham, who regains top spot in Asiamoney’s Brokers Poll, notes that Chinese oil companies are trading at a premium to global peers but says they ought to be viewed as China index stocks.

Evelyn Moore, CLSA’s Dallas-based salesperson, says fund flows to Asia are set to rise after years of US-based investors being underweight on the region. It comes after she was voted best salesperson once again in Asiamoney’s Brokers Poll 2009.

Christie Ju is optimistic about Chinese growth but says the high fixed asset growth is not sustainable. She picks up the award for best conglomerates analyst for the second year running in Asiamoney’s Brokers Poll 2009.

Goldman Sachs analyst Henry King cites research saying that as macro momentum resumes, hardware benefits most in the tech universe. The winner of best technology hardware and equipment analyst in Asiamoney’s Brokers Poll 2009 is particularly bullish on the computer segment.

Helen Zhu of Goldman Sachs, who wins best telecoms analyst for the third year in Asiamoney’s Brokers Poll, says Thai firms should benefit from regulatory changes, while China Unicom and Taiwan Mobile offer upside.