< The 2014 All-Japan Research Team
Total Appearances: 12
Analyst Debut: 2003 Nomura analyst Daisaku Masuno extends his winning streak to six years. Clients praise the detail and accuracy of the 49-year-old’s research and appreciate the frequency with which he contacts them. Masuno reports on ten Japanese telecommunications companies and has been concentrating on the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ review of telecoms policy and intends to continue closely monitoring the situation through the debate’s November conclusion. “Looking ahead, we expect the focus to be on whether prohibited activities on NTT DoCoMo will be lifted,” he advises. But even given the uncertain circumstances, over the fiscal year ending in March 2015, the researcher foresees positive drivers for several of the biggest, Tokyo-based names in the space. KDDI Corp. he expects to benefit from both rising mobile average revenue per unit and increasing shareholder returns. The latter will also be a boon to Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., which additionally is well positioned to benefit from expansion overseas, as is SoftBank Corp., Masuno believes.
