Korea / Special Situations, Clepsydra Capital

Sanghyun Park

Korea / Special Situations

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

Surprisingly, NHN Entertainment (which was spun off from Naver in 2013) made USD40m investment in Ticket Monster (one of the three major social commerce companies in Korea along with the famous Coupang and WeMakePrice). In return of this investment, NHN Entertainment is believed to receive slightly less than 3 percent equity in Ticket Monster.Earlier this year, Ticket Monster publicly announced its plan of USD300m fundraising in a bid to compete more effectively against Softbank-backed Coupang…

Surprisingly, NHN Entertainment (which was spun off from Naver in 2013) made USD40m investment in Ticket Monster (one of the three major social commerce companies in Korea along with the famous Coupang and WeMakePrice). In return of this investment, NHN Entertainment is believed to receive slightly less than 3 percent equity in Ticket Monster.Earlier this year, Ticket Monster publicly announced its plan of USD300m fundraising in a bid to compete more effectively against Softbank-backed Coupang…

NHN Entertainment Invests in Ticket Monster - Implications for Softbank and Softbank-Backed Coupang

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

Travis Lundy

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Quiddity Advisors

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>Telecom companies are traditionally "easy" to value. They have assets, debt, depreciation, earnings, cashflow. Lots of people like to use EV/EBITDA to measure.</li>
<li>In comparing Japan's telcos, I believe when <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/softbank-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27445:1" rel="noopener">Softbank Corp (9434 JP)</a> is in the mix, one has to use forward PERs. EV/EBITDA is too fraught with complications.</li>
<li>Softbank is currently at its most expensive multiple since listing on a Price to Forward Earnings basis, and relative to its major Peers. And KDDI has a big buyback now.</li>
</ul>


Telecom companies are traditionally "easy" to value. They have assets, debt, depreciation, earnings, cashflow. Lots of people like to use EV/EBITDA to measure.
In comparing Japan's telcos, I believe when Softbank Corp (9434 JP) is in the mix, one has to use forward PERs. EV/EBITDA is too fraught with complications.
Softbank is currently at its most expensive multiple since listing on a Price to Forward Earnings basis, and relative to its major Peers. And KDDI has a big buyback now.


Softbank Corp (9434) - Accounting for the Accounting Is Complicated Redux - So Be Bearish

Expert on Japan Retail and Consumer Markets, JapanConsuming

Michael Causton

Expert on Japan Retail and Consumer Markets

Real Insight on Japanese Consumer Markets

JapanConsuming

JapanConsuming is a specialist research firm producing intelligence on Japanese retail and consumer markets. Founded in 2000, JapanConsuming has become the leading provider of insights on Japanese retailers and consumer trends to retailers, brands, government agencies and investors. As well as a highly regarded monthly report on the market, JapanConsuming produces in-depth reports on retail sectors, seminars on key trends and telephone consulting to investors on trends and retailers.

JapanConsuming was founded by Michael Causton and Roy Larke. 

<ul>
<li>The big online malls continue to grow at higher rates than many branded e-commerce stores, meaning consecutive annual gains in market share. </li>
<li>Amazon’s lead now seems to be widening while Rakuten is also pulling ahead of Z Holdings, which continues to struggle with poor integration of assets, and we see little upside.</li>
<li>Amazon is now Japan's 2nd biggest retailer but, despite its problems in Mobile, Rakuten is proving a relentless competitor in e-commerce and we remain bullish on its e-commerce prospects.</li>
</ul>


The big online malls continue to grow at higher rates than many branded e-commerce stores, meaning consecutive annual gains in market share. 
Amazon’s lead now seems to be widening while Rakuten is also pulling ahead of Z Holdings, which continues to struggle with poor integration of assets, and we see little upside.
Amazon is now Japan's 2nd biggest retailer but, despite its problems in Mobile, Rakuten is proving a relentless competitor in e-commerce and we remain bullish on its e-commerce prospects.


Japan's E-Commerce Wars: Rakuten Fighting Hard as Amazon Japan Becomes No. 2 Retailer

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.

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/japan-post-holdings-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:359:1" rel="noopener">Japan Post Holdings (6178 JP)</a> aims to sell around US$9bn worth of  <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/japan-post-bank-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:838:1" rel="noopener">Japan Post Bank (7182 JP)</a>, trimming its stake by a third.</li>
<li>We have looked at the deal in our previous notes, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/japan-post-bank-placement-deal-structure-past-deals-index-buyback" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:96666" rel="noopener">Japan Post Bank Placement - Deal Structure, past Deals, Index, Buyback</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/japan-post-bank-placement-misbehaving-still-has-time-to-correct-a-look-at-past-deals" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:97201" rel="noopener">Japan Post Bank Placement - Misbehaving</a>. </li>
<li>In this note, we talk about the updates since our last note and have a look at the post pricing performance of a few more deals.</li>
</ul>



Japan Post Holdings (6178 JP) aims to sell around US$9bn worth of  Japan Post Bank (7182 JP), trimming its stake by a third.
We have looked at the deal in our previous notes, Japan Post Bank Placement - Deal Structure, past Deals, Index, Buyback and Japan Post Bank Placement - Misbehaving. 
In this note, we talk about the updates since our last note and have a look at the post pricing performance of a few more deals.


Japan Post Bank Placement -  Still Misbehaving - Post-Pricing Performance of Some More Deals

Research from Tech in Asia, Tech in Asia

Tech in Asia

Research from Tech in Asia

Tech in Asia (YC W15) is the largest English-language technology media company that focuses on Asia. From the latest news to the hottest trends and the boldest startups to the strongest titans, we cover everything tech in the region. Our goal is to build and serve Asia’s tech and startup community.

News from Tech in Asia

Private Capital Markets

Akros Technologies / Private Capital Markets

<ul><li><a href="https://www.akrostec.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Akros Technologies</a>, a South Korea-based fintech firm, has raised US$2.3 million in a strategic funding round.</li><li>The fundraise was led by ZVC – the investment arm of Line Corporation parent Z Holdings.</li><li>Founded last year, Akros Technologies manages its own <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/etf.asp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exchange-traded funds</a> (ETFs) powered by machine learning models. </li></ul>

Akros Technologies, a South Korea-based fintech firm, has raised US$2.3 million in a strategic funding round.The fundraise was led by ZVC – the investment arm of Line Corporation parent Z Holdings.Founded last year, Akros Technologies manages its own exchange-traded funds (ETFs) powered by machine learning models. 

Line Parent’s VC Firm Leads $2.3m Funding for Korean ETF Startup

Japan

A Holdings Corporation develops and operates the LINE application for smartphones. The Company offers games distribution, music distribution, advertisements, and other services. A Holdings serves clients across worldwide.

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A Holdings (LN US)

NHN Entertainment Invests in Ticket Monster - Implications for Softbank and Softbank-Backed Coupang

Surprisingly, NHN Entertainment (which was spun off from Naver in 2013) made USD40m investment in Ticket Monster (one of the three major social...

Sanghyun Park

Softbank Corp (9434) - Accounting for the Accounting Is Complicated Redux - So Be Bearish

Accounting for all the adjustments needed in EV (and EBITDA) in constructing a fair value for Softbank Corp means one should use forward PER. In...

Travis Lundy

Japan's E-Commerce Wars: Rakuten Fighting Hard as Amazon Japan Becomes No. 2 Retailer

Amazon is now Japan's 2nd biggest retailer by JPN revenues. Rakuten claims parity on GTVs and is trying hard to build share through a better...

Michael Causton

Japan Post Bank Placement - Still Misbehaving - Post-Pricing Performance of Some More Deals

Japan Post Holdings aims to sell around US$9bn worth of Japan Post Bank (7182 JP), trimming its stake by a third. In this note, we look at the...

Sumeet Singh

Line Parent’s VC Firm Leads $2.3m Funding for Korean ETF Startup

Akros Technologies, a South Korea-based fintech firm, has raised US$2.3 million in a strategic funding round. The fundraise was led by ZVC – the...

Tech in Asia

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