Silver Point

Thomas J. Monaco

Silver Point is a boutique research firm that focuses on the broader financial services sector, with a particular focus on troubled institutions globally. 

Asia Ex Japan

Equity Bottom-Up

<p><strong><em>*Costs Now An Issue: </em></strong>Ping An Bank (000001.CH) [PAB], the Ping An Insurance (2318.HK) [Ping An] banking subsidiary, reported CNY 6.5 bn – declining CNY 2.2 bn (25.1%) on a linked quarter basis. In this environment, credit troubles no doubt are a foregone conclusion. However, this was not necessarily PAB’s biggest issue in its most results announcement, where the bulk of the earnings decline was attributed to a CNY 1.9 bn (17.1%) linked quarter increase in costs;</p><p><strong><em>*Credit Is WEAKER Still: </em></strong> We find that credit weakness is actually deteriorating at an even more accelerated pace than in 3Q20, as net new NPLs have increased CNY 20.5 bn or a massive 241% (223% in 3Q20) on an annualized basis. We also find that PAB’s reserves still remain quite light by CNY 152 bn if we assume a 2x NPL ratio. This shortfall represents 60% of stated equity; and</p><p><strong><em>*Fundamentally Challenged Still:</em></strong> Despite the Investor Day cheerleading session, Ping An P&amp;C operating profits declined CNY 2.6 bn (29.2%) HOH in 1H20, as the overall combined ratio eroded 1.5% to 98.1% due primarily to continued weakness within the credit insurance unit where the combined ratio came in at 125.6% (up 32.4%). The credit insurance segment reported a CNY 3.5 bn underwriting loss, due to defaults on underlying loans. </p>

*Costs Now An Issue: Ping An Bank (000001.CH) [PAB], the Ping An Insurance (2318.HK) [Ping An] banking subsidiary, reported CNY 6.5 bn – declining CNY 2.2 bn (25.1%) on a linked quarter basis. In this environment, credit troubles no doubt are a foregone conclusion. However, this was not necessarily PAB’s biggest issue in its most results announcement, where the bulk of the earnings decline was attributed to a CNY 1.9 bn (17.1%) linked quarter increase in costs;*Credit Is WEAKER Still:  We find that credit weakness is actually deteriorating at an even more accelerated pace than in 3Q20, as net new NPLs have increased CNY 20.5 bn or a massive 241% (223% in 3Q20) on an annualized basis. We also find that PAB’s reserves still remain quite light by CNY 152 bn if we assume a 2x NPL ratio. This shortfall represents 60% of stated equity; and*Fundamentally Challenged Still: Despite the Investor Day cheerleading session, Ping An P&amp;C operating profits declined CNY 2.6 bn (29.2%) HOH in 1H20, as the overall combined ratio eroded 1.5% to 98.1% due primarily to continued weakness within the credit insurance unit where the combined ratio came in at 125.6% (up 32.4%). The credit insurance segment reported a CNY 3.5 bn underwriting loss, due to defaults on underlying loans. 

China Merchants Bank H / Equity Bottom-Up

<p><strong><em>*Weak 4Q20 Bottom-Line:</em></strong> China Merchants Bank (3968.HK) [CMB] announced a poor set of preliminary 4Q20 results, with net profit declining CNY 6.1 bn (22.7%) on a linked quarter basis – this, despite having its tax rate decline 790 bp to 15.6% over the period; and</p><p><strong><em>*Best Retail Franchise Hitting Credit Wall:</em></strong> While CMB has the best retail franchise in mainland China, credit risk has substantially increased in 4Q20. We note a potential net new NPL increase of CNY 11.4 bn linked quarter for a whopping annualized increase in NPLs of 80.4%. Trouble is brewing in paradise.  </p>

*Weak 4Q20 Bottom-Line: China Merchants Bank (3968.HK) [CMB] announced a poor set of preliminary 4Q20 results, with net profit declining CNY 6.1 bn (22.7%) on a linked quarter basis – this, despite having its tax rate decline 790 bp to 15.6% over the period; and*Best Retail Franchise Hitting Credit Wall: While CMB has the best retail franchise in mainland China, credit risk has substantially increased in 4Q20. We note a potential net new NPL increase of CNY 11.4 bn linked quarter for a whopping annualized increase in NPLs of 80.4%. Trouble is brewing in paradise.  

China Merchants Bank – Massive 4Q20 Charge-Offs

Postal Savings Bank of China C / Equity Bottom-Up

<p><strong>*Private Placement Coming: </strong>We firmly believe that Postal Savings Bank (1658.HK) [PSBC] will be named a D-SIB which will cause it to face immediate pressures to raise capital, given the unprecedented COVID-19 and failure to deal with their legacy problem assets. To that end, PSBC is raising CNY 30 bn (USD 4.3 bn) through a private placement of shares to parent China Post Group. PSBC aims to close this transaction by the end of 1Q21; and   </p><p><strong>*Starting Off From A Better Place Than Peer: </strong>We view PSBC as one of mainland China’s higher quality financial institutions but we do recognize that credit risks continue to accelerate. At 1H20, we note that credit continues to breakdown at an accelerated pace, as net new NPLs increased CNY 12.1 bn or 57% on an annualized basis. The on-balance defaulted bonds amount to about CNY 500 mn, suggesting a limited impact. Total credit exposure to Yongmei and Henan Energy is CNY 1 bn.</p>

*Private Placement Coming: We firmly believe that Postal Savings Bank (1658.HK) [PSBC] will be named a D-SIB which will cause it to face immediate pressures to raise capital, given the unprecedented COVID-19 and failure to deal with their legacy problem assets. To that end, PSBC is raising CNY 30 bn (USD 4.3 bn) through a private placement of shares to parent China Post Group. PSBC aims to close this transaction by the end of 1Q21; and   *Starting Off From A Better Place Than Peer: We view PSBC as one of mainland China’s higher quality financial institutions but we do recognize that credit risks continue to accelerate. At 1H20, we note that credit continues to breakdown at an accelerated pace, as net new NPLs increased CNY 12.1 bn or 57% on an annualized basis. The on-balance defaulted bonds amount to about CNY 500 mn, suggesting a limited impact. Total credit exposure to Yongmei and Henan Energy is CNY 1 bn.

Postal Savings Bank – D-SIB Spurs Placement

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<p><strong><em>*D-SIB Standards Released:</em></strong> The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and China Bank and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) on December 3, 2020 released finalized standards for the country’s domestic systemically important banks (D-SIBs), and indicated that tighter regulations will be announced shortly; and</p><p><strong><em>* Aggressive Capital Raises Expected: </em></strong>In our view, the forthcoming regulations are likely to focus on: additional paid-in capital; leverage ratios; risk concentrations; corporate governance; disclosure levels; and mechanism to prevent systemic risk; and internal controls. The idea is to finally strengthen mainland Chinese bank balance sheets and improve their loss absorption capacity. Problem for equity raises is that P/BV must be over 1.0x for the raise and many of the potential D-SIBs are trading below book value. </p>

*D-SIB Standards Released: The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and China Bank and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) on December 3, 2020 released finalized standards for the country’s domestic systemically important banks (D-SIBs), and indicated that tighter regulations will be announced shortly; and* Aggressive Capital Raises Expected: In our view, the forthcoming regulations are likely to focus on: additional paid-in capital; leverage ratios; risk concentrations; corporate governance; disclosure levels; and mechanism to prevent systemic risk; and internal controls. The idea is to finally strengthen mainland Chinese bank balance sheets and improve their loss absorption capacity. Problem for equity raises is that P/BV must be over 1.0x for the raise and many of the potential D-SIBs are trading below book value. 

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

Travis Lundy

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Quiddity Advisors

Quantitative Analysis

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<p>The H-Share/A-Share monitor is published every weekend for the data ending the last trading day of the previous week. It includes all H-Share/A-Share pairs where the H-Share has a 90-day average daily value-traded of US$1.0mm or more. It shows basic data per H/A spread stock by sector, with...</p>
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<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>H/A Discount,</li>
<li>movement in H/A Discount over 5 and 20 days,</li>
<li>a 52-week Z-score for the spread,</li>
<li>A chart showing evolution of the H/A spread over the last 20 days,</li>
<li>Southbound shares held (millions of shares), Net Change in Southbound (Shanghai and Shenzhen combined) shares held by millions of shares, and contribution of Net Southbound Volume to HK-traded volume over the past five days and 20 days, </li>
<li>There is also a chart showing the average sector spread and the individual spreads within each sector over the last three years. </li>
</ul>
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<p>A recent addition is the possible status of H/A-share companies in the monitor which are subject to the Trump Executive Order on Chinese Military Companies. They are separated into three types (Possible Direct Qualifying Entity, Possible Indirect Qualifying Entity, and 20+%-owned by Qualifying Entity). They are color-coded as below.</p>
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<p>For more on the list of names, please see <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/trump-s-executive-order-on-chinese-military-companies" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:45259" rel="noopener">Trump's Executive Order on Chinese Military Companies</a>. </p>
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<p>This past week saw mixed movement in H/A spreads but on average they were narrower.</p>
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<figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/174/829/original/Screenshot%202020-11-28%20at%206.25.16%20PM.png?1606559131" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="174829"></figure>
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<p>Average performance of the 39 recommendations (long 27, short 12) from last week was for a profit of 0.67% per trade.</p>
<p>There are 43 recommendations for the upcoming week.</p>
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<p>The first sector discussed is <strong>Consumer</strong>, where liquid H/A spreads narrowed on average 0.6% this past week after narrowing 2.7% the week before. Spreads are now tighter by 2.1% on average over a four-week period. Four of six liquid Hs outperformed their As.</p>
<p>Southbound accounts were large-ish net buyers on the week. There were three net buys and three net sells but the net buying ended up being all <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/byd-co-ltd-h" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:20962:1" rel="noopener">BYD (1211 HK)</a>, again. <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/guangzhou-automobile-group-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11082:1" rel="noopener">Guangzhou Automobile Group (2238 HK)</a> saw significant net selling. </p>
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<p>Last week I recommended staying long the H vs A on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/great-wall-motor-co-ltd-cb302af9-398c-4d2d-ba39-023e43287eef" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:128:1" rel="noopener">Great Wall Motor (2333 HK)</a> and that spread gained 1.6% for the week (after gaining 4.7% the week before when it was also recommended). This past week I put out the Weekly late on Monday (after 2pm), when BYD in Hong Kong had gained 3.7% vs the As on the day, and so recommended implementing a short BYD (1211 HK) H vs A share trade and from that point or even from the end of the day or the next, the Hs actually underperformed the As by 0.4%. </p>
<p>See below the fold for this week's recommendations.</p>
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<figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/174/809/original/Screenshot%202020-11-28%20at%205.32.56%20PM.png?1606556000" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="174809"></figure>
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<section class="figure">For Energy, Financials &amp; Real Estate, Health Care, Tech, Industrials, Materials, and Utilities, please read on.</section>
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The H-Share/A-Share monitor is published every weekend for the data ending the last trading day of the previous week. It includes all H-Share/A-Share pairs where the H-Share has a 90-day average daily value-traded of US$1.0mm or more. It shows basic data per H/A spread stock by sector, with...



H/A Discount,
movement in H/A Discount over 5 and 20 days,
a 52-week Z-score for the spread,
A chart showing evolution of the H/A spread over the last 20 days,
Southbound shares held (millions of shares), Net Change in Southbound (Shanghai and Shenzhen combined) shares held by millions of shares, and contribution of Net Southbound Volume to HK-traded volume over the past five days and 20 days, 
There is also a chart showing the average sector spread and the individual spreads within each sector over the last three years. 



A recent addition is the possible status of H/A-share companies in the monitor which are subject to the Trump Executive Order on Chinese Military Companies. They are separated into three types (Possible Direct Qualifying Entity, Possible Indirect Qualifying Entity, and 20+%-owned by Qualifying Entity). They are color-coded as below.





For more on the list of names, please see Trump's Executive Order on Chinese Military Companies. 



This past week saw mixed movement in H/A spreads but on average they were narrower.




Average performance of the 39 recommendations (long 27, short 12) from last week was for a profit of 0.67% per trade.
There are 43 recommendations for the upcoming week.



The first sector discussed is Consumer, where liquid H/A spreads narrowed on average 0.6% this past week after narrowing 2.7% the week before. Spreads are now tighter by 2.1% on average over a four-week period. Four of six liquid Hs outperformed their As.
Southbound accounts were large-ish net buyers on the week. There were three net buys and three net sells but the net buying ended up being all BYD (1211 HK), again. Guangzhou Automobile Group (2238 HK) saw significant net selling. 




Last week I recommended staying long the H vs A on Great Wall Motor (2333 HK) and that spread gained 1.6% for the week (after gaining 4.7% the week before when it was also recommended). This past week I put out the Weekly late on Monday (after 2pm), when BYD in Hong Kong had gained 3.7% vs the As on the day, and so recommended implementing a short BYD (1211 HK) H vs A share trade and from that point or even from the end of the day or the next, the Hs actually underperformed the As by 0.4%. 
See below the fold for this week's recommendations.











For Energy, Financials &amp; Real Estate, Health Care, Tech, Industrials, Materials, and Utilities, please read on.


Quiddity Weekly H/​​A: Share Spread Monitor as of 27 Nov 2020

China

China Everbright Bank Company Limited provides a full range of commercial banking services including deposit, loan, domestic and international settlement, currency trading, discount, financial and government bonds, interbank lending, receipt and payment, insurance, letter of credit, bank guarantee, deposit box services, and other related services.

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China Everbright Bank (6818 HK)

Ping An Insurance - Awful Bank Result

PING AN INSURANCE: PAB reported a 25.1% lower linked quarter result. The bulk of the earnings decline was attributed to a 17.1% increase in costs;...

Thomas J. Monaco

China Merchants Bank – Massive 4Q20 Charge-Offs

CHINA MERCHANTS BANK: CMB announced a poor set of preliminary 4Q20 results, as profit declined 22.7% QOQ. Credit risk has substantially increased...

Thomas J. Monaco

Postal Savings Bank – D-SIB Spurs Placement

POSTAL SAVINGS BANK OF CHINA: D-SIB Status Spurs Private Placement And Likely A Lower ROE Both From Dilution And Challenged Fundamentals In 2021.

Thomas J. Monaco

China Banks – About Time

CHINA BANKS: PBOC and CBIRC Released Finalized D-SIB Standards and Indicated Tighter Regulations. Aggressive Capital Raises Are Expected.

Thomas J. Monaco

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

Ping An Insurance - Awful Bank Result

PING AN INSURANCE: PAB reported a 25.1% lower linked quarter result. The bulk of the earnings decline was attributed to a 17.1% increase in costs;...

Thomas J. Monaco

China Merchants Bank – Massive 4Q20 Charge-Offs

CHINA MERCHANTS BANK: CMB announced a poor set of preliminary 4Q20 results, as profit declined 22.7% QOQ. Credit risk has substantially increased...

Thomas J. Monaco

Postal Savings Bank – D-SIB Spurs Placement

POSTAL SAVINGS BANK OF CHINA: D-SIB Status Spurs Private Placement And Likely A Lower ROE Both From Dilution And Challenged Fundamentals In 2021.

Thomas J. Monaco

China Banks – About Time

CHINA BANKS: PBOC and CBIRC Released Finalized D-SIB Standards and Indicated Tighter Regulations. Aggressive Capital Raises Are Expected.

Thomas J. Monaco

Quiddity Weekly H/​​A: Share Spread Monitor as of 27 Nov 2020

The weekly H/A Share Monitor and Trade Recommendations. Spreads narrower on the week. Last week's 39 trade recommendations gained 0.67% on average....

Travis Lundy

Quiddity Weekly H/A: Share Spread Monitor as of 27 Nov 2020