Equity Long-Short Analyst

Pyari Menon

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/twist-bioscience-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:37112:1" rel="noopener">Twist Bioscience (TWST US)</a> fosters a new biotech paradigm by empowering startups and researchers with scalable tools, accelerating innovation and transforming biotech into a more agile, tech-style founder-driven industry.</li>
<li>DNA synthesis should see strong growth (15-25% CAGR estimates) driven by synthetic biology revolutionizing healthcare, agriculture, and industry with precise, scalable solutions for gene editing and bioengineering.</li>
<li>Lack of profitability and notable short-seller interest are concerns, but its innovative platform, high innovation score and transformative potential makes a somewhat risky but very good investment case</li>
</ul>



Twist Bioscience (TWST US) fosters a new biotech paradigm by empowering startups and researchers with scalable tools, accelerating innovation and transforming biotech into a more agile, tech-style founder-driven industry.
DNA synthesis should see strong growth (15-25% CAGR estimates) driven by synthetic biology revolutionizing healthcare, agriculture, and industry with precise, scalable solutions for gene editing and bioengineering.
Lack of profitability and notable short-seller interest are concerns, but its innovative platform, high innovation score and transformative potential makes a somewhat risky but very good investment case


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. 

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>April, which along with October is the month when many Japanese FMCG brands adjust prices, saw far fewer price hikes this year compared to 2023. </li>
<li>Even so, numerous major brands still announced hefty price increases for later in the year.</li>
<li>Meanwhile, government subsidies for utility costs are ending and the weak Yen is an increasing concern for many consumer-facing companies. </li>
</ul>


April, which along with October is the month when many Japanese FMCG brands adjust prices, saw far fewer price hikes this year compared to 2023. 
Even so, numerous major brands still announced hefty price increases for later in the year.
Meanwhile, government subsidies for utility costs are ending and the weak Yen is an increasing concern for many consumer-facing companies. 


Fewer Price Hikes in Spring, but Prices Still Rising

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>The Japanese Financial Services Agency has asked the general insurers to reduce/eliminate their cross-shareholdings.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tokio-marine-holdings-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:7591:1" rel="noopener">Tokio Marine Holdings (8766 JP)</a> had a stake over US$100m in at least 33 listed Japanese stocks, amounting to a total of US$16.5bn.</li>
<li>In this note, we take a look at its stakes in various companies to see which ones could possibly be candidates for further selldowns.</li>
</ul>


The Japanese Financial Services Agency has asked the general insurers to reduce/eliminate their cross-shareholdings.

Tokio Marine Holdings (8766 JP) had a stake over US$100m in at least 33 listed Japanese stocks, amounting to a total of US$16.5bn.
In this note, we take a look at its stakes in various companies to see which ones could possibly be candidates for further selldowns.


Tokio Marine Cross-Shareholding - At Least US$18bn of Cross-Shareholding to Sell

<ul>
<li>The Japanese Financial Services Agency has asked the general insurers to reduce/eliminate their cross-shareholdings.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sompo-holdings-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:632:1" rel="noopener">Sompo Holdings (8630 JP)</a> had a stake over US$100m in at least 16 listed Japanese stocks, amounting to a total of around US$6bn.</li>
<li>In this note, we take a look at its stakes in various companies to see which ones could possibly be candidates for further selldowns.</li>
</ul>


The Japanese Financial Services Agency has asked the general insurers to reduce/eliminate their cross-shareholdings.

Sompo Holdings (8630 JP) had a stake over US$100m in at least 16 listed Japanese stocks, amounting to a total of around US$6bn.
In this note, we take a look at its stakes in various companies to see which ones could possibly be candidates for further selldowns.


Sompo Holdings Cross-Shareholding - At Least US$8bn of Cross-Shareholding to Sell

APAC IPOs & Placements, Aequitas Research

Clarence Chu

APAC IPOs & Placements

Equity Capital Markets

<ul>
<li>MUFG Bank and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking are looking to raise around US$425m from selling their respective stakes in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/lasertec-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:4126:1" rel="noopener">Lasertec Corp (6920 JP)</a>.</li>
<li>Given the strong momentum on the stock, combined with the wave of shareholders ending their cross-shareholdings in Japan, we would argue that the deal is somewhat expected.</li>
<li>Despite the remaining overhang on the stock, the deal would be easily digested by the market as well, representing just 0.14 days of the firm’s three month ADV.</li>
</ul>


MUFG Bank and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking are looking to raise around US$425m from selling their respective stakes in Lasertec Corp (6920 JP).
Given the strong momentum on the stock, combined with the wave of shareholders ending their cross-shareholdings in Japan, we would argue that the deal is somewhat expected.
Despite the remaining overhang on the stock, the deal would be easily digested by the market as well, representing just 0.14 days of the firm’s three month ADV.


Lasertec Placement - Opportunistic Selldown Will Be Easily Digested by the Market

Japan

Ajinomoto Co., Inc. produces and sells a variety of food products, including seasonings, edible oils, processed foods, beverages, and dairy products.  The Company also develops and manufactures pharmaceuticals, amino acids, and specialty chemicals.

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Ajinomoto Co (2802 JP)

DNA Synthesis with a Silicon Twist

Twist's fast, cheap DNA synthesis will power biotech start-ups, driving demand, fostering loyalty, enabling innovation, and securing new and...

Pyari Menon

Fewer Price Hikes in Spring, but Prices Still Rising

April saw fewer price hikes on the year, but major brands are still planning hefty increases soon. Government subsidies for utilities are ending...

Michael Causton

Tokio Marine Cross-Shareholding - At Least US$18bn of Cross-Shareholding to Sell

Tokio Marine today announced that it aims to cut its cross-shareholding to zero by FY2029. It will aim to sell 50% of its holdings worth around...

Sumeet Singh

Sompo Holdings Cross-Shareholding - At Least US$8bn of Cross-Shareholding to Sell

The Japanese Financial Services Agency has asked the general insurers to reduce/eliminate their cross-shareholdings. Sompo had a stake of over...

Sumeet Singh

Lasertec Placement - Opportunistic Selldown Will Be Easily Digested by the Market

MUFG Bank and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking are looking to raise around US$425m from selling their respective stakes in Lasertec Corp (6920 JP).

Clarence Chu

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