2 Indians in Asia's 10 best stock pickers

After a dip from the late 1990s financial crisis and postmillennial bubble, stock trading volume in Asia has been on the rise. Outside the US 1,700 sell-side analysts track these equity markets. With analysis from StarMine, a San Francisco research outfit, we have identified the best analysts across Asia when it comes to buy, sell or hold advice.

These pan-Asia awards exclude Japan because of the lack of coverage overlap between Japan and the rest of the region.

1. Peter Bai | China International Capital (Excess return: 110%)

Bai's recommendations on Hong Kong and China real estate and insurance stocks outperformed their benchmarks by 110 per cent for the 12-month period ended in June. His best call: China Overseas Land & Investment, a publicly traded subsidiary of state-owned China State Construction Engineering, the country's largest construction outfit. China Overseas develops and manages commercial and residential real estate in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. During the 12 months when Bai maintained a "buy" on China Overseas, it went up 232 per cent.

2. Stanley Chou | KGI Securities (Excess return: 59%)

Chou covers Taiwanese technology hardware and electronic equipment stocks. His best pick was a 12-month-long "outperform" recommendation on High Tech Computer, a contract manufacturer of handheld computers and smart phones and a favorite of several of the StarMine top ten analysts. High Tech gained 303 per cent during the "buy" period.

3. Kitti Hamnilrat | Seamico Securities Public  (Excess return: 52%)

Hamnilrat's coverage of Thai stocks encompasses industries ranging from real estate to retail and household durables. Best call: a "strong buy" on Erawan Group, which develops and manages hotels, office buildings and shopping centers in Bangkok. This 12-month long position gained 160 per cent.

4. Arthur Hsieh | UBS (Excess return: 42%)

Hsieh watches Taiwanese and Hong Kong stocks. His best-performing bullish recommendation was handset manufacturer Foxconn International, which is based in Hong Kong but is majority-owned by Hon Hai Precision of Taiwan.

Shares of Foxconn rose 129 per cent while Hsieh had it as a "buy." Other strong calls were High Tech Computer, up 92 per cent, and printed circuit board maker Unimicron Technology, up 54 per cent. Hsieh remains bullish on Foxconn and High Tech and has added Hon Hai to the top of his buy list.

5. Raymond (Nicky) Franco | Abacus Securities (Excess return: 40%)

Franco covers stocks in the Philippines. His best pick was Philex Mining, a copper, gold and silver mining company, which rose 287 per cent. He made another timely pick with Paxys, which operates call centers. During the time that Franco had a "strong buy" recommendation--from September 2005 to June 2006--shares of Paxys gained 114%. His current top three picks are Apex Mining, Philodrill and Ionics.

Study more from this article

Tags: financial crisis, best stocks, stock picker, asia, analysis, track, equity market, buy, sell shares, advice, best pick