Citi includes RIL, Axis & Aurobindo in 18 Asian stock list

Citi Research has included Reliance Industries, Axis Bank and Aurobindo Pharma as the only Indian firms in its expanded list of 18 Asian stocks to watch for in 2016.
"We have revised and expanded our Focus List from 13 to 18 stocks, comprising six old names and 12 new," Citi said in a note.
China's Tencent, Ping An Insurance and Bank of China, Singapore's DBS Group as well as South Korean Samsung Electronics and LG Chem have been retained.
Sands China, CR Land of China, Taiwan's TSMC and Largan, South Korea's AmorePacific, Bangkok Bank, Ayala of Philippines, Tenaga of Malaysia, and Astra Intl of Indonesia have been included.

The stocks from India included are Axis Bank, Reliance, Aurobindo.
"Citi Focus List Asia - The focus list showcases our regional analysts' strongest Buy ideas for the next 12 months, a time horizon in line with our fundamental rating system," Citi said.

The focus list highlights liquid names in which investors can readily build positions, it said
Citi said almost five years of underperformance of Reliance Industries stock is finally set to reverse as pre-tax or EBITDA will start growing after three years of sustained decline, return ratios stage a gradual turnaround and proportion of 'unproductive' capital starts coming off.

"Some concerns still remain, such as rising cash balances, telecom's potential for further cash burn, and lack of comfort and clarity on the core project expansions," it said.
On Aurobindo Pharma, it said, the company is well-placed to leverage its large backend infrastructure and product basket.
"Strong revenue growth and consequently rising capacity utilization along with an improving product mix would drive strong earnings growth, in our view.
"The US biz momentum continues to surprise and the strong pipeline indicates that the momentum should sustain over the medium term," Citi said.
Axis Bank, it said, is a rapidly growing, profitable, and competitive private-sector bank in India.

"However, after an explosive growth period over the last few years, it has faced pressures on asset quality. The operating environment has remained challenging in recent months, and Axis has witnessed rising levels of NPLs, restructured loans and other forms of stress," it said.