Equity Analyst, LightStream Research

Shifara Samsudeen, FCMA, CGMA

Equity Analyst

Long-Short Analysis on Japan, Asia and the World

LightStream Research

LightStream conducts quantitatively rigorous and data-driven analysis with a focus on Japan and Asia.

We consistently cover the Tech, Consumer and Industrial sectors, and provide ECM and Events coverage more broadly.

We supplement traditional qualitative insights from company relationships with a robust quantitative foundation that examines as much historical data as is available.
We further refine the accuracy of our insights and calls through the use of alternative data to flesh out current trends, and through a valuation framework that emphasises non-superficial peer group selection and a proper attempt to understand the metrics and changes that have driven security valuations in the past.

Event-Driven

The ride-hailing giant <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/grabtaxi-holdings-pte-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26950:1" rel="noopener">Grab (0967655D SP)</a>  announced on Tuesday (13th April 2021) that it plans to go public in the US via a SPAC merger with <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/altimeter-growth-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:33007:1" rel="noopener">Altimeter Growth Corp (AGC US)</a>  at a proposed valuation (pro-forma) of approx. US$39.6bn.As per the proposed transaction, Altimeter Growth and Grab will become wholly-owned subsidiaries of a new holding company and the combined company will have an equity-value of approx. US$39.6bn on a pro-forma basis.Grab will receive about US$4.5bn in cash, including more than US$4.0bn from a fully committed PIPE (private investment in public equity arrangement) offering that will be managed by BlackRock, Counterpoint Global, T.Rowe Price Associates, Fidelity International, Fidelity Management and Research, Mubadala, Temasek and several others.<figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/200/522/original/image_77815607321618386359074.png?1618386363" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="200522"></figure><div style="text-align: left;" class="content-caption">Source: Company disclosures</div>Altimeter Capital has committed to US$750m to the PIPE Financing and also also has committed to a 3-year lock-up period for its sponsor promote shares offering investors confidence over Grab’s future prospects.

The ride-hailing giant Grab (0967655D SP)  announced on Tuesday (13th April 2021) that it plans to go public in the US via a SPAC merger with Altimeter Growth Corp (AGC US)  at a proposed valuation (pro-forma) of approx. US$39.6bn.As per the proposed transaction, Altimeter Growth and Grab will become wholly-owned subsidiaries of a new holding company and the combined company will have an equity-value of approx. US$39.6bn on a pro-forma basis.Grab will receive about US$4.5bn in cash, including more than US$4.0bn from a fully committed PIPE (private investment in public equity arrangement) offering that will be managed by BlackRock, Counterpoint Global, T.Rowe Price Associates, Fidelity International, Fidelity Management and Research, Mubadala, Temasek and several others.Source: Company disclosuresAltimeter Capital has committed to US$750m to the PIPE Financing and also also has committed to a 3-year lock-up period for its sponsor promote shares offering investors confidence over Grab’s future prospects.

Grab Goes Public: Expanding Top Line but No Profits; Proposed Valuation Seems Excessively Ambitious

Overseas Chinese Equities, Aequitas Research

Ming Lu

Overseas Chinese Equities

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.

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>Tencent raised its online TV subscription fees by 17%~50%.</li>
<li>The fundamental cause is the loss in online TV, but the direct cause is competitor iQiyi raised the fees last November.</li>
<li>We believe Tencent’s operating margin will improve slightly in 2021.</li>
<li>We also believe the stock price will have an upside of 19% by the end of 2021.</li>
</ul>
Our previous coverage on Tencent:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/tencent-700-hk-q4-promising-in-all-businesses-price-down-upgrade-to-buy-again" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:49622" rel="noopener">Tencent (700 HK): Q4, Promising in All Businesses, Price Down, Upgrade to Buy Again</a></li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/tencent-700-hk-price-surged-time-to-look-at-negative-industry-data" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:48272" rel="noopener"></a><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/2021-high-conviction-long-tencent-as-all-competitors-are-in-trouble" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:46087" rel="noopener">2021 High Conviction: Long Tencent as All Competitors Are in Trouble</a>
</li>
</ul>


Tencent raised its online TV subscription fees by 17%~50%.
The fundamental cause is the loss in online TV, but the direct cause is competitor iQiyi raised the fees last November.
We believe Tencent’s operating margin will improve slightly in 2021.
We also believe the stock price will have an upside of 19% by the end of 2021.

Our previous coverage on Tencent:

Tencent (700 HK): Q4, Promising in All Businesses, Price Down, Upgrade to Buy Again

2021 High Conviction: Long Tencent as All Competitors Are in Trouble



Tencent (700 HK): Raises Subscription Fees for Online TV

Oshadhi Kumarasiri

Just days after <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/alibaba-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28434:1" rel="noopener">Alibaba Group (9988 HK)</a> was hit with a record US$2.8bn fine for breaching China’s antitrust regulations, The People's Bank of China announced yesterday that Alibaba affiliate, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ant-group-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24240:1" rel="noopener">Ant Financial Services Group (6688 HK)</a> has agreed to restructure its business lines and become a financial holding company with regulatory oversight from PBOC and minimum capital requirements.The settlement of these two issues signals an end to most of Alibaba’s regulatory overhang that resulted in Alibaba’s underperformance compared to its peers since November 2020. Having said that, we feel Jack Ma Vs Xi saga is nowhere near the end (Last month the government asked Alibaba to dispose its media assets) and Xi and the Communist Party will continue to curtail the power of Chinese tech companies at every chance they get.

Just days after Alibaba Group (9988 HK) was hit with a record US$2.8bn fine for breaching China’s antitrust regulations, The People's Bank of China announced yesterday that Alibaba affiliate, Ant Financial Services Group (6688 HK) has agreed to restructure its business lines and become a financial holding company with regulatory oversight from PBOC and minimum capital requirements.The settlement of these two issues signals an end to most of Alibaba’s regulatory overhang that resulted in Alibaba’s underperformance compared to its peers since November 2020. Having said that, we feel Jack Ma Vs Xi saga is nowhere near the end (Last month the government asked Alibaba to dispose its media assets) and Xi and the Communist Party will continue to curtail the power of Chinese tech companies at every chance they get.

Ant Group Overhaul: Difficult to Rule Out Further Government Interventions

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

David Blennerhassett

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Quiddity Advisors

In two SCMP articles on the <a href="https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3128495/im-very-dissatisfied-tvbs-performance-says-chinese-media-tycoon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">7 April</a>, PRC media tycoon Li Ruigang, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/television-broadcasts-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:19341:1" rel="noopener">Television Broadcasts (511 HK)</a>'s largest shareholder (via Young Lion Holdings), discussed his dissatisfaction with TVB's performance, saying:
<blockquote>
As a free broadcaster, TVB should be a public open platform welcoming other players in the media and entertainment industry to participate.
</blockquote>
Under the broadcasting ordinance in Hong Kong, non-permanent residents - such as Li - cannot apply for a free TV or pay TV licence, and are branded “disqualified persons”. Li added:
<blockquote>
We respect the ordinance. In the past five years, CMC was a passive investor. [But] if TVB does not reform now, it will shrink, then perish. I am now trying to bring it out from drowning.
</blockquote>
Yesterday, TVB <a href="https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2021/0412/2021041200063.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> Mark Lee Po On, Vice Chairman (since <a href="https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2020/0429/2020042902252.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">April</a> last year) and Group CEO (since January 2015), had resigned. 
This follows the resignation Charles Chan (then Chairman and NED) in <a href="https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2020/0122/2020012200238.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">January</a> last year, culminating in the re-oganisation of Young Lion Holding in last August.
One but can't help but speculate there are more changes afoot, one that may ultimately lead to changes in the ordinance.
More below the fold.

In two SCMP articles on the 7 April, PRC media tycoon Li Ruigang, Television Broadcasts (511 HK)'s largest shareholder (via Young Lion Holdings), discussed his dissatisfaction with TVB's performance, saying:

As a free broadcaster, TVB should be a public open platform welcoming other players in the media and entertainment industry to participate.

Under the broadcasting ordinance in Hong Kong, non-permanent residents - such as Li - cannot apply for a free TV or pay TV licence, and are branded “disqualified persons”. Li added:

We respect the ordinance. In the past five years, CMC was a passive investor. [But] if TVB does not reform now, it will shrink, then perish. I am now trying to bring it out from drowning.

Yesterday, TVB announced Mark Lee Po On, Vice Chairman (since April last year) and Group CEO (since January 2015), had resigned. 
This follows the resignation Charles Chan (then Chairman and NED) in January last year, culminating in the re-oganisation of Young Lion Holding in last August.
One but can't help but speculate there are more changes afoot, one that may ultimately lead to changes in the ordinance.
More below the fold.

Asset Allocation & Fund Positioning, Copley Fund Research

Steven Holden

Asset Allocation & Fund Positioning

Copley Fund Research

Copley Fund Research provide research and data on asset allocation among Global and Emerging Market equity funds.  The analysis details absolute and relative positioning across countries, sectors and industries together with highly granular data on single stock and single fund allocations.  The data is updated monthly with time series going back to January 2011.

Global Research - Analysis of 165 prominent Global equity funds, combined AUM $335bn
GEM Research - Analysis of 127 prominent global EM equity funds, combined AUM $250bn

Asset Allocation - Global and GEM Equity

Following the cancelled Ant IPO in November of last year, sentiment towards <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/alibaba-group-holding-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:787:1" rel="noopener">Alibaba Group (BABA US)</a> turned negative.  Average weights in EM portfolios fell from 6.57% in October to 3.82% today, the percentage of funds holding <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/alibaba-group-holding-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:787:1" rel="noopener">Alibaba Group (BABA US) </a>fell from 83.4% to 81.7%, the percentage of funds overweight <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/alibaba-group-holding-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:787:1" rel="noopener">Alibaba Group (BABA US)</a> fell from 41.1% to 30.3% and for the first time since 2018, the there was an excess of sellers over buyers.With the regulatory overhang seen largely as done for now, we present 4 reasons why we believe EM managers will be incentivized to increase allocations from here.

Following the cancelled Ant IPO in November of last year, sentiment towards Alibaba Group (BABA US) turned negative.  Average weights in EM portfolios fell from 6.57% in October to 3.82% today, the percentage of funds holding Alibaba Group (BABA US) fell from 83.4% to 81.7%, the percentage of funds overweight Alibaba Group (BABA US) fell from 41.1% to 30.3% and for the first time since 2018, the there was an excess of sellers over buyers.With the regulatory overhang seen largely as done for now, we present 4 reasons why we believe EM managers will be incentivized to increase allocations from here.

Alibaba:  Reversal Trade Could Run. EM Funds Underweight & Far from Overstretched

China

Alibaba Group Holding Limited provides online sales services. The Company provides internet infrastructure, electronic commerce, online financial, and internet content services through its subsidiaries. Alibaba Group Holding offers its products and services worldwide.

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Alibaba (BABA US)

Grab Goes Public: Expanding Top Line but No Profits; Proposed Valuation Seems Excessively Ambitious

Grab announced on Tuesday that it plans to go public in the US via a SPAC merger with Altimeter Growth Corp. at a proposed valuation (pro-forma) of...

Shifara Samsudeen, FCMA, CGMA

Tencent (700 HK): Raises Subscription Fees for Online TV

Tencent raised its online TV subscription fees by 17%~50%. The fundamental cause is the loss in online TV, but the direct cause is competitor iQiyi...

Ming Lu

Ant Group Overhaul: Difficult to Rule Out Further Government Interventions

On a long-term basis, we are reluctant to buy Alibaba at current prices as we believe the Chinese government’s effort to curtail the power of tech...

Oshadhi Kumarasiri

TVB (511 HK): Small Screen Saver

This stock is very beaten up. Li has a plan, it would seem. If he is given the green light, shares will pop, if not on the economics, but at least...

David Blennerhassett

Alibaba: Reversal Trade Could Run. EM Funds Underweight & Far from Overstretched

Alibaba remains the largest underweight in EM. With sentiment at it's lowest ebb prior to this weekend's antitrust fine, EM managers may be...

Steven Holden

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