Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

Douglas Research Advisory

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>Kakao Corp (035720 KS) has two near-term positive catalysts. First is treasury shares cancellation. Second is insiders buying of its shares.</li>
<li>These moves suggest the management's confidence in the company's outlook ahead of the AGM on 26 March. </li>
<li>In our view, one of the major reasons why the insiders are buying could be due to Kakao's collaboration with OpenAI. </li>
</ul>


Kakao Corp (035720 KS) has two near-term positive catalysts. First is treasury shares cancellation. Second is insiders buying of its shares.
These moves suggest the management's confidence in the company's outlook ahead of the AGM on 26 March. 
In our view, one of the major reasons why the insiders are buying could be due to Kakao's collaboration with OpenAI. 


Kakao Corp: Insiders Are Buying and Cancellation of Treasury Shares

<ul>
<li>It was reported in numerous local media in Korea that FSS is investigating Kakao Mobility for a potential accounting fraud. </li>
<li>There are suspicions that Kakao Mobility may have artificially inflated its sales from 2020 to 2023 to enhance the value of the company prior to its IPO listing. </li>
<li>Given that the regulators are unlikely to make a final decision on this matter until next year, this is likely to be negative on both Kakao Mobility and Kakao Corp. </li>
</ul>


It was reported in numerous local media in Korea that FSS is investigating Kakao Mobility for a potential accounting fraud. 
There are suspicions that Kakao Mobility may have artificially inflated its sales from 2020 to 2023 to enhance the value of the company prior to its IPO listing. 
Given that the regulators are unlikely to make a final decision on this matter until next year, this is likely to be negative on both Kakao Mobility and Kakao Corp. 


Concerns About A Major Accounting Fraud at Kakao Mobility

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements, Aequitas Research

Sumeet Singh

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements

IPOs and Placements coverage across Asia Pacific

Aequitas Research

We cover all listing across the Asia Pacific along with follow-up placements. As of Dec 2020, our team had covered 539 IPOs with a hit rate of 73.5% and 685 placements with a hit rate of 66.8%.

We combine fundamental bottom-up views with our proprietary quantitative framework to provide a holistic coverage across new listings and placements. Our coverage includes pre-IPO notes before the deal is launched, follow-up analysis once the deal is live and post-listing trading analysis as well.

<ul>
<li>PCAOB officials concluded their Hong Kong visit last month and PCAOB is due to announce its annual judgment on whether it had adequate access to US listed China companies.</li>
<li>The Hong Kong visit was on the back of the 26th Aug 2022 announcement by PCAOB and CSRC that they had entered into an agreement with US authorities for access.</li>
<li>In this note, we'll talk about the latest developments, possible outcomes and implications.</li>
</ul>


PCAOB officials concluded their Hong Kong visit last month and PCAOB is due to announce its annual judgment on whether it had adequate access to US listed China companies.
The Hong Kong visit was on the back of the 26th Aug 2022 announcement by PCAOB and CSRC that they had entered into an agreement with US authorities for access.
In this note, we'll talk about the latest developments, possible outcomes and implications.


China ADRs Delisting - Friday Could Be Judgment Day for over US$800bn Mcap of Stocks

<ul>
<li>Multiple new agencies have been reporting that <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tencent-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26:1" rel="noopener">Tencent (700 HK)</a> plans to trim its investment portfolio over the remainder of the year. </li>
<li>The reports have been coming in since the second half of the year and the company has been duly denying these rumors.</li>
<li>In this note, we look at Tencent’s shareholding in various companies to try and gauge which ones it could sell out of and how.</li>
</ul>


Multiple new agencies have been reporting that Tencent (700 HK) plans to trim its investment portfolio over the remainder of the year. 
The reports have been coming in since the second half of the year and the company has been duly denying these rumors.
In this note, we look at Tencent’s shareholding in various companies to try and gauge which ones it could sell out of and how.


Tencent Investee Selldown - The US$120bn Global Overhang

Korea / Special Sits, Pairs, Index Rebalancing, Clepsydra Capital

Sanghyun Park

Korea / Special Sits, Pairs, Index Rebalancing

Clepsydra Capital

Investigate special situations, pairs, and index rebalancing trades in Korea.

<ul>
<li>Local chatter’s building that Samsung Electronics and Kakao might drop value-up disclosures by end-June to mid-July, as both cozy up to the new administration and move into its inner circle.</li>
<li>Jay Lee’s surprise solo meeting with President Lee marked a turning point, signaling Samsung’s intent to step out of SK’s shadow and take the lead under the new regime.</li>
<li>Value-Up details aren’t final, but Samsung’s likely to reaffirm &gt;35% payout, while Kakao’s set to focus on ROE improvement and multiple expansion.</li>
</ul>


Local chatter’s building that Samsung Electronics and Kakao might drop value-up disclosures by end-June to mid-July, as both cozy up to the new administration and move into its inner circle.
Jay Lee’s surprise solo meeting with President Lee marked a turning point, signaling Samsung’s intent to step out of SK’s shadow and take the lead under the new regime.
Value-Up details aren’t final, but Samsung’s likely to reaffirm &gt;35% payout, while Kakao’s set to focus on ROE improvement and multiple expansion.


Near-Term Value-Up Plays in the Pipeline: Samsung Electronics & Kakao

South Korea

Kakao Corp. provides Internet portal services such as news, free e-mail, and leisure information.  The Company also offers cross-platform mobile messaging application that allows users to exchange messages.

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Kakao Corp (035720 KS)

Kakao Corp: Insiders Are Buying and Cancellation of Treasury Shares

Kakao Corp (035720 KS) has two near-term positive catalysts. First is treasury shares cancellation. Second is insiders buying of its shares.

Douglas Kim

Concerns About A Major Accounting Fraud at Kakao Mobility

FSS is investigating Kakao Mobility for a potential, major accounting fraud. There are suspicions that Kakao Mobility may have artificially...

Douglas Kim

China ADRs Delisting - Friday Could Be Judgment Day for over US$800bn Mcap of Stocks

PCAOB officials concluded their Hong Kong visit last month and PCAOB is due to announce its annual judgment on whether it had adequate access to US...

Sumeet Singh

Tencent Investee Selldown - The US$120bn Global Overhang

There have been multiple reports that Tencent (700 HK) plans to trim its investment portfolio over the remainder of the year. We look at Tencent's...

Sumeet Singh

Near-Term Value-Up Plays in the Pipeline: Samsung Electronics & Kakao

This post covers near-term value-up plays in the pipeline — and the market’s buzzing about two heavyweights: Samsung Electronics and Kakao.

Sanghyun Park

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