| Description of Firm’s research process and risks: |
Silk Road Research (SRR) is a primary research firm that conducts regular surveys, informal interviews with industry experts, and broad-based industry research in the Automotive, Construction & Mining, Industrial Automation and Real Estate sectorsindustrial sector across China and Southeast Asia. SRR consists of four full-time employees who with input from a number of industry experts, has been providing research since 2014. SRR provides clients with a broad range of regularly published proprietary content, including thematic reports, market analyses, daily and weekly industry updates, monthly and quarterly business surveys, and macro research. Based on the fact that SRR’s analysts survey and speak with industry consultants, goverment employees, and employees of publicly traded companies, there is a risk that the firm could inadvertently collect material nonpublic information or confidential company information. It is important to note that SRR is different from many other market research or survey firms because SRR does not collect quantitative financial information on the companies it covers such as quarterly or annual sales figures, earnings data, or profit margins. Instead, SRR collects qualitative insights on demand trends, directional indicators, and industry feedback on the key trends in the auto, construction and mining, industrial automation and real estate sectors in China and Southeast Asia. We believe this factor mitigates, to some extent, the information control issues inherent in SRR’s primary research process. |
