Asia

Tom helps to steer Gavekal’s global research, with a special focus on energy markets. Before joining Gavekal in 2014 he worked as an analyst and commentator at media organizations including CNBC, The Wall Street Journal and the Far Eastern Economic Review, earning his spurs as the lead foreign exchange analyst for Dow Jones during the 1997-98 Asian currency crisis. He originally started his working life as an exploration geologist, until a collapse in commodity prices forced him into journalism as the traditional refuge of the otherwise unemployable.

Tom writes about emerging markets, specializing in China and its role in the world. A former journalist, he has reported from a dozen countries in Asia. He has appeared in the Financial Times, Economist, New York Times, Washington Post ​and Wall Street Journal, and on the BBC, CNN and CNBC. Tom holds a first-class degree in English Literature from Oxford, a master's degree in Chinese Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, and spent two years studying Chinese at universities in Beijing. He is the author of two acclaimed books. His first, China’s Urban Billion: The Story Behind the Biggest Migration in Human History, was published in 2012 and translated into Chinese. His second, China’s Asian Dream: Empire Building Along the New Silk Road, was published in 2017. After 14 years in China, Tom now lives in Oxford.

Simon oversees all output from Gavekal’s global research service and frequently appears on webinars and video interviews in the role of interrogator. He occasionally writes on political-economy developments in Asia, which is his expertise. Before joining Gavekal in 2012, he was an analyst at Blackrock and hedge funds based in London and Hong Kong. His early career was spent as a journalist working for media outlets including Bloomberg News and the South China Morning Post.

Udith Sikand joined Gavekal in 2013 as an analyst covering macro-economic and market developments in India and the major Southeast Asian economies. Previously, he worked with investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods as an equity research associate covering Indian and South Korean banks. Prior to KBW, he worked as a research analyst with CreditSights covering Asian sovereigns and credit strategy. Udith holds an undergraduate degree in economics from SRCC, University of Delhi and a Masters degree in International Political Economy from the University of Warwick.