Founder/CEO of ROK Advisory, ROK Advisory LLC

Ken S. Kim

Founder/CEO of ROK Advisory

ROK Advisory LLC

ROK is an independent research advisory firm. We guide you to minimize the information gap between foreign and local investors in Northeast Asia with a focus in Korea, Taiwan and Japan.

Independent Research Advisory Firm

Equity Bottom-Up

Recently local articles mentioned that <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/naver-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:16029:1" rel="noopener">Naver Corp (035420 KS)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kakao-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:15002:1" rel="noopener">Kakao Corp (035720 KS)</a> are competing to buy the major shareholder's stake in Korea entertainment company $sm entertainment but if the worry about buying an entertainment company that never really makes consistent money bottom line was a worry to ROE or ROIC then why hasn't Kakao gone down as well?

Recently local articles mentioned that Naver Corp (035420 KS) and Kakao Corp (035720 KS) are competing to buy the major shareholder's stake in Korea entertainment company $sm entertainment but if the worry about buying an entertainment company that never really makes consistent money bottom line was a worry to ROE or ROIC then why hasn't Kakao gone down as well?   

Kakao V. Naver - The New Unregulated Kings of Fintech

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.

Equity Capital Markets

<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/aihuishou" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:33426:1" rel="noopener">Aihuishou (RERE US)</a> (AHS), China’s largest pre-owned consumer electronics transactions and services platform, aims to raise up to US$1bn via a US listing. It is backed by <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/jd-com-inc-adr" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:446:1" rel="noopener">JD.com Inc (ADR) (JD US)</a>, Morningside and Tiger Global.A total of 26.1m consumer products, worth RMB22.8bn, were transacted by AHS over twelve months ending Mar 2021. It had over 755 offline stores across 172 cities. According to CIC, it had a 6.6% market share in terms of GMV for pre-owned electronics and 8.7% market share in terms of number of pre-owned devices transacted in 2020. As per CIC, its GMV for electronics and number of devices transacted in 2020 were both greater than the next five largest platforms combined, as per CIC.

Aihuishou (RERE US) (AHS), China’s largest pre-owned consumer electronics transactions and services platform, aims to raise up to US$1bn via a US listing. It is backed by JD.com Inc (ADR) (JD US), Morningside and Tiger Global.A total of 26.1m consumer products, worth RMB22.8bn, were transacted by AHS over twelve months ending Mar 2021. It had over 755 offline stores across 172 cities. According to CIC, it had a 6.6% market share in terms of GMV for pre-owned electronics and 8.7% market share in terms of number of pre-owned devices transacted in 2020. As per CIC, its GMV for electronics and number of devices transacted in 2020 were both greater than the next five largest platforms combined, as per CIC. 

AiHuiShou Pre-IPO - Mostly Positive - Pre-Owned but Well Loved

TMT & Consumer Independent Equity Research Analyst, Obex Capital Research

Aaron Gabin

TMT & Consumer Independent Equity Research Analyst

TMT & Consumer Independent Equity Research

Obex Capital Research

“Obex” is Latin for Barriers to Entry. Obex Capital Management’s investment philosophy is driven by an intense focus on which business model’s Barriers to Entry are able to withstand the ever increasing competitive disruption in the TMT and Consumer Sectors.

We think Snowflake is expensive, but not necessarily as expensive at it seems (44x CY22 revenues) when looked at on a growth adjusted metric (0.6x). This quarter didn’t reveal anything notable – the business is still doubling YoY, guidance for 90% growth next quarter seems conservative, and the operating model as a whole seems conservative (e.g. mid70s gross margin target vs. 73% today)…which is why we expect some sort of update coming in two weeks at Snowflake’s analyst day. The stock has become a consensus short, which explains some of the price action today on a just “ok” guidance. The recent drawdown below $200 represented a good entry point…we are long, and would add into Analyst Day.<div class="content-highlight">Obex’s fundamental research process is focused on secular change in the TMT and Consumer sectors. We seek to differentiate between fundamental business analysis and security analysis. Before deciding if a security’s pricing and positioning merit a long or short position, we analyze the four pillars of business fundamentals (Secular Factors, TAM, Competitive Advantage, Business Model) in order to determine if this is a “good” or “not so good” opportunity.</div>

We think Snowflake is expensive, but not necessarily as expensive at it seems (44x CY22 revenues) when looked at on a growth adjusted metric (0.6x). This quarter didn’t reveal anything notable – the business is still doubling YoY, guidance for 90% growth next quarter seems conservative, and the operating model as a whole seems conservative (e.g. mid70s gross margin target vs. 73% today)…which is why we expect some sort of update coming in two weeks at Snowflake’s analyst day. The stock has become a consensus short, which explains some of the price action today on a just “ok” guidance. The recent drawdown below $200 represented a good entry point…we are long, and would add into Analyst Day.Obex’s fundamental research process is focused on secular change in the TMT and Consumer sectors. We seek to differentiate between fundamental business analysis and security analysis. Before deciding if a security’s pricing and positioning merit a long or short position, we analyze the four pillars of business fundamentals (Secular Factors, TAM, Competitive Advantage, Business Model) in order to determine if this is a “good” or “not so good” opportunity.

Snowflake 2Q22 Earnings: Stay Tuned to Analyst Day

Latest News from the World’s Leading Innovators

Granite Bay Capital

An innovation focussed investment company

Granite Bay Capital is an innovation focussed investment company with a deep focus on the companies at the leading edge of innovation across major themes such as AI, ubiquitous computing, sustainability, automation and longevity.

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

Headline Developments China is looking to continue its rout on crypto, pushing for the suspension of some crypto mining operations late last week.  Chinese Vice Premier Liu He told a group of officials that the Government would “clamp down on bitcoin mining and trading activity” to achieve financial stability.

Headline Developments China is looking to continue its rout on crypto, pushing for the suspension of some crypto mining operations late last week.  Chinese Vice Premier Liu He told a group of officials that the Government would “clamp down on bitcoin mining and trading activity” to achieve financial stability.

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. 

Rakuten is playing catch up with Amazon in logistics and this is the primary driver behind its new collaboration with Japan Post.
The two companies will set up a new joint business in July to cover the country in new, efficient fulfilment centres. 
As a result, Rakuten will be able to save substantially on capital investment in its own logistics network, particularly the most expensive part of that: the last mile network Rakuten Express, which will now be cancelled in favour of partner services centred on Japan Post.
This will allow Rakuten to focus logistics investment on full coverage at the national level.
Rakuten is growing faster than Z Holding's in e-commerce, including in 1Q2021 and looks set to continue to do so, with the new logistics platform a key part of this, ensuring consumers receive the kind of fulfilment speed and consistency normally only associated with Amazon Japan.

Rakuten is playing catch up with Amazon in logistics and this is the primary driver behind its new collaboration with Japan Post.
The two companies will set up a new joint business in July to cover the country in new, efficient fulfilment centres. 
As a result, Rakuten will be able to save substantially on capital investment in its own logistics network, particularly the most expensive part of that: the last mile network Rakuten Express, which will now be cancelled in favour of partner services centred on Japan Post.
This will allow Rakuten to focus logistics investment on full coverage at the national level.
Rakuten is growing faster than Z Holding's in e-commerce, including in 1Q2021 and looks set to continue to do so, with the new logistics platform a key part of this, ensuring consumers receive the kind of fulfilment speed and consistency normally only associated with Amazon Japan.

Rakuten Ramps up Logistics to Increase Lead in E-Commerce

United States

Amazon.com, Inc. is an online retailer that offers a wide range of products. The Company's products include books, music, videotapes, computers, electronics, home and garden, and numerous other products.  Amazon offers personalized shopping services, Web-based credit card payment, and direct shipping to customers.

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Amazon (AMZN US)

Kakao V. Naver - The New Unregulated Kings of Fintech

If fintech is the flavor of 2H21, Naver should be strongly considered as another winner of this space where they will be unregulated for next 3 years.

Ken S. Kim

AiHuiShou Pre-IPO - Mostly Positive - Pre-Owned but Well Loved

Aihuishou(RERE US), China’s largest pre-owned consumer electronics transactions and services platform, aims to raise upto US$1bn via a US listing....

Sumeet Singh

Snowflake 2Q22 Earnings: Stay Tuned to Analyst Day

Snowflake has become a consensus short, we think the recent drawdown below $200 represented a good entry point…we are long, and would add into...

Aaron Gabin

Weekly Innovation Review #33

Headline Developments China is looking to continue its rout on crypto, pushing for the suspension of some crypto mining operations late last week. ...

Granite Bay Capital

Rakuten Ramps up Logistics to Increase Lead in E-Commerce

Rakuten's lead in e-commerce is strengthening against Z Holdings and its deal with Japan Post will ensure it is far, far ahead on fulfilment...

Michael Causton

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