Peter Williamson

"We believe an 18-month time- frame is realistic for a stock that benefits from good visibility and strong underlying earnings momentum," Citigroup analysts Peter Williamson and Stanley Chan said.

Citigroup analyst Peter Williamson writes that Noble has been punished by investors for its canny handling of the bulk shipping market in 2004, when the company's sales increased 96% over the previous year, and profits jumped to US$293m from US$62m.But Williamson also says that the price-to-book ratio of 1.7 currently reflects the discount.

Citigroup's Peter Williamson expects these "specials" will continue without signs of future mergers and acquisitions on the horizon.

However, the departure of Esprit founder Michael Ying Lee-yuen, who has raised a combined of HK$11.5 billion in five separate placements since 2003, led to speculation that he will sell down his remaining 16 percent shareholding in the company.