Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

David Blennerhassett

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Quiddity Advisors

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>A double dose of StubWorld this week. <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/swire-pacific-ltd-cl-a" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:10433:1" rel="noopener">Swire Pacific (A) (19 HK)</a>'s P/B is back down to 0.31x as <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/cathay-pacific-airways-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:243:1" rel="noopener">Cathay Pacific (293 HK)</a> tackles alleged language bias by flight attendants.</li>
<li>Preceding my comments on Japan Post are the current setup/unwind tables for Asia-Pacific Holdcos.</li>
<li>These relationships trade with a minimum liquidity of US$1mn, and a % market capitalisation &gt;20%.</li>
</ul>


A double dose of StubWorld this week. Swire Pacific (A) (19 HK)'s P/B is back down to 0.31x as Cathay Pacific (293 HK) tackles alleged language bias by flight attendants.
Preceding my comments on Japan Post are the current setup/unwind tables for Asia-Pacific Holdcos.
These relationships trade with a minimum liquidity of US$1mn, and a % market capitalisation &gt;20%.


StubWorld: Swire Drifts Lower As Cathay Faces Discrimination Claim

Travis Lundy

<ul>
<li>In August this year, Swire Pacific started a buyback programme for up to HK$4.0 billion worth of their shares (<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/swire-pacific-ltd-cl-a" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:10433:1" rel="noopener">Swire Pacific (A) (19 HK)</a> | <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/swire-pacific-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:23726:1" rel="noopener">Swire Pacific (B) (87 HK)</a>).</li>
<li>The shares went up. And B briefly outperformed A, but since then, the B/A ratio has fallen and my impression was Swire may have been misinterpreting the buyback rules.</li>
<li>Swire had been buying both every day. But they've been Buying Bs but no As for the last ten days in a row. This begs a few questions.</li>
</ul>


In August this year, Swire Pacific started a buyback programme for up to HK$4.0 billion worth of their shares (Swire Pacific (A) (19 HK) | Swire Pacific (B) (87 HK)).
The shares went up. And B briefly outperformed A, but since then, the B/A ratio has fallen and my impression was Swire may have been misinterpreting the buyback rules.
Swire had been buying both every day. But they've been Buying Bs but no As for the last ten days in a row. This begs a few questions.


<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/swire-pacific-ltd-cl-a" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:10433:1" rel="noopener">Swire Pacific (A) (19 HK)</a> is proposing the spin-off and separate listing on the SET of non-wholly-owned ThaiNamthip Corporation Limited, a Coca-Cola franchise operator in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.</li>
<li>On the 30th September, Swire completed the 55.7% acquisition for THB42,615.7mn (HK$9,470.1mn). ThaiNamthip concurrently sought to acquire a 30% stake in Swire Coca-Cola’s operations in Vietnam and Cambodia for HK$2,114.6mn.</li>
<li>At the time of the acquisition, ThaiNamthip had an extrapolative price tag of ~HK$17bn. Should the proposed spin-off complete, ThaiNamthip will remain a non-wholly owned subsidiary of Swire.</li>
</ul>



Swire Pacific (A) (19 HK) is proposing the spin-off and separate listing on the SET of non-wholly-owned ThaiNamthip Corporation Limited, a Coca-Cola franchise operator in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.
On the 30th September, Swire completed the 55.7% acquisition for THB42,615.7mn (HK$9,470.1mn). ThaiNamthip concurrently sought to acquire a 30% stake in Swire Coca-Cola’s operations in Vietnam and Cambodia for HK$2,114.6mn.
At the time of the acquisition, ThaiNamthip had an extrapolative price tag of ~HK$17bn. Should the proposed spin-off complete, ThaiNamthip will remain a non-wholly owned subsidiary of Swire.


Swire Pac (19 HK): Thai Beverage Spin-Off

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/swire-pacific-ltd-cl-a" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:10433:1" rel="noopener">Swire Pacific (A) (19 HK)</a> is coming up "rich" on my monitor vs. <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/cathay-pacific-airways-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:243:1" rel="noopener">Cathay Pacific Airways (293 HK)</a>; and Cathay "cheap" to <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/air-china-ltd-h" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8239:1" rel="noopener">Air China Ltd (H) (753 HK)</a>.</li>
<li>Preceding my comments on Swire and Cathay are the current setup/unwind tables for Asia-Pacific Holdcos.</li>
<li>These relationships trade with a minimum liquidity of US$1mn, and a % market capitalisation &gt;20%.</li>
</ul>



Swire Pacific (A) (19 HK) is coming up "rich" on my monitor vs. Cathay Pacific Airways (293 HK); and Cathay "cheap" to Air China Ltd (H) (753 HK).
Preceding my comments on Swire and Cathay are the current setup/unwind tables for Asia-Pacific Holdcos.
These relationships trade with a minimum liquidity of US$1mn, and a % market capitalisation &gt;20%.


StubWorld: Swire Is "Rich" To Cathay; And Cathay "Cheap" To Air China

HK/China Equity Long-Short

Osbert Tang, CFA

Equity Bottom-Up

Cathay Pacific Airways / Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/cathay-pacific-airways-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:243:1" rel="noopener">Cathay Pacific Airways (293 HK)</a>'s buyback of Qatar Airways' 9.57% stake should enhance its FY26F EPS and ROE by 4.6% and 0.36pp, respectively. </li>
<li>With passenger traffic and load factor continuing to recover, the consensus forecast of a 24.2% YoY earnings decline in 2H25 is too conservative, suggesting upside surprise. </li>
<li>Its FY25-27F ROE is a record since 2013, with potential to trade up to 1.65x P/B (30%+ upside). It is also possible to be included in the HSI again.</li>
</ul>



Cathay Pacific Airways (293 HK)'s buyback of Qatar Airways' 9.57% stake should enhance its FY26F EPS and ROE by 4.6% and 0.36pp, respectively. 
With passenger traffic and load factor continuing to recover, the consensus forecast of a 24.2% YoY earnings decline in 2H25 is too conservative, suggesting upside surprise. 
Its FY25-27F ROE is a record since 2013, with potential to trade up to 1.65x P/B (30%+ upside). It is also possible to be included in the HSI again.


Cathay Pacific (293 HK): Buyback of Qatar-Owned Shares Is Positive

Hong Kong

Swire Pacific Limited operates as a holding company. The Company, through its subsidiaries, focuses on real estate, aviation, beverage, industrial, marine services, trading, and industrial businesses. Swire Pacific operates worldwide.

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Swire Pacific (B) (87 HK)

StubWorld: Swire Drifts Lower As Cathay Faces Discrimination Claim

I prefer Pac here over Props, but it's not a high-conviction trade. Given the rebound, you could probably look to unwind a long Swire Pac (B) vs...

David Blennerhassett

Swire Now Buying Back B Shares Only

Swire's buyback has been going on 5 months. They are now 65.6% done. A new development is that in the last ten days, they have only been buying B...

Travis Lundy

Swire Pac (19 HK): Thai Beverage Spin-Off

Quantifying unlisted operations is positive. However, unless ThaiNamthip's valuation surprises to the upside, its listing impact may be limited....

David Blennerhassett

StubWorld: Swire Is "Rich" To Cathay; And Cathay "Cheap" To Air China

At these NAV discount levels, I might look to set up the stub, and short Swire Props, which accounts for ~90% of Swire Pac's mkt cap. The ongoing...

David Blennerhassett

Cathay Pacific (293 HK): Buyback of Qatar-Owned Shares Is Positive

Cathay Pacific's buyback of Qatar Airways' stake is expected to boost both EPS and ROE for FY26 and FY27, supporting valuations. It may also be...

Osbert Tang, CFA

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

StubWorld: Swire Drifts Lower As Cathay Faces Discrimination Claim

I prefer Pac here over Props, but it's not a high-conviction trade. Given the rebound, you could probably look to unwind a long Swire Pac (B) vs...

David Blennerhassett

Swire Now Buying Back B Shares Only

Swire's buyback has been going on 5 months. They are now 65.6% done. A new development is that in the last ten days, they have only been buying B...

Travis Lundy

Swire Pac (19 HK): Thai Beverage Spin-Off

Quantifying unlisted operations is positive. However, unless ThaiNamthip's valuation surprises to the upside, its listing impact may be limited....

David Blennerhassett

StubWorld: Swire Is "Rich" To Cathay; And Cathay "Cheap" To Air China

At these NAV discount levels, I might look to set up the stub, and short Swire Props, which accounts for ~90% of Swire Pac's mkt cap. The ongoing...

David Blennerhassett

Cathay Pacific (293 HK): Buyback of Qatar-Owned Shares Is Positive

​Cathay Pacific's buyback of Qatar Airways' stake is expected to boost both EPS and ROE for FY26 and FY27, supporting valuations. It may also be...

Osbert Tang, CFA

Cathay Pacific's buyback of Qatar Airways' stake is expected to boost both EPS and ROE for FY26 and FY27, supporting valuations. It may also be...