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

China Pacific Insurance / Equity Bottom-Up

*Weak 3Q21 Results: China Pacific Insurance (2601.HK) (CPIC) reported 3Q21 results of CNY 5.4 bn, declining CNY 3.4 bn (38.5%) linked quarter. Profitability was hurt by both the Life and P&amp;C units, which declined CNY 3.9 bn (52.4%) and CNY 156 mn (10.6%), respectively, to CNY 3.6 bn and CNY 1.3 bn; and*Troubles Continue In Life: During 3Q21, first year premium (FYP) agent per month declined by 41.0% linked quarter largely due to CPIC relying more on online channels to conduct new sales, and intimating agency distribution remained a challenge.The new CEO of CPIC Life mentioned that a new agency restructure will be implemented beginning January 1, 2022.

*Weak 3Q21 Results: China Pacific Insurance (2601.HK) (CPIC) reported 3Q21 results of CNY 5.4 bn, declining CNY 3.4 bn (38.5%) linked quarter. Profitability was hurt by both the Life and P&amp;C units, which declined CNY 3.9 bn (52.4%) and CNY 156 mn (10.6%), respectively, to CNY 3.6 bn and CNY 1.3 bn; and*Troubles Continue In Life: During 3Q21, first year premium (FYP) agent per month declined by 41.0% linked quarter largely due to CPIC relying more on online channels to conduct new sales, and intimating agency distribution remained a challenge.The new CEO of CPIC Life mentioned that a new agency restructure will be implemented beginning January 1, 2022.

China Pacific Insurance – Life Troubles

*Weak Results in Investment and P&amp;C: Ping An Insurance (2318.HK) [Ping An] reported 3Q21 results of CNY 23.6 bn, declining CNY 7.1 bn (23.2%) linked quarter.  Much of the struggle this quarter remained Ping An’s investment portfolio – likely a long-term thematic, where the net investment yield plummet 30 bp to 4.4%. Excluding Ping An Bank (000001.CH) [PAB] whose results were completely managed, all other business units disappointed linked quarter; and*Concerns Increase At Bank And With Expansion Plans:  PAB reported 3Q21 results of CNY 11.7 bn. Don’t shoot off the streamers just yet, credit quality was abysmal and Ping An clearly pulled on its bank lever. By our analysis, we find that credit remains incredibly challenged as net new NPLs are now accelerating at Indian bank pace of CNY 12.4 bn or 159.8% annualized.  Assuming that the accelerated credit break in the PAB portfolio continues to remain at its current level, we find that PAB’s reserves remain CNY 19 bn light.

*Weak Results in Investment and P&amp;C: Ping An Insurance (2318.HK) [Ping An] reported 3Q21 results of CNY 23.6 bn, declining CNY 7.1 bn (23.2%) linked quarter.  Much of the struggle this quarter remained Ping An’s investment portfolio – likely a long-term thematic, where the net investment yield plummet 30 bp to 4.4%. Excluding Ping An Bank (000001.CH) [PAB] whose results were completely managed, all other business units disappointed linked quarter; and*Concerns Increase At Bank And With Expansion Plans:  PAB reported 3Q21 results of CNY 11.7 bn. Don’t shoot off the streamers just yet, credit quality was abysmal and Ping An clearly pulled on its bank lever. By our analysis, we find that credit remains incredibly challenged as net new NPLs are now accelerating at Indian bank pace of CNY 12.4 bn or 159.8% annualized.  Assuming that the accelerated credit break in the PAB portfolio continues to remain at its current level, we find that PAB’s reserves remain CNY 19 bn light.  

Ping An Insurance – Another Abysmal Result

*Loan Defaults and USD Bond Payments Set To Continue:  China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) [Evergrande] magically made an 11th hour interest payment of USD 83.5 mn to bondholders on Friday, October 22, 2021 – escaping default by the skin of its teeth, just as its 30-day grace period with bondholders was about to end. While the market is worried about a China Huarong Asset Management (2799.HK) default crippling the country’s USD credit market, they too should understand that any bond default by Evergande likely roils this market as well; and* Worrisome Comments By  PBOC Governor Yi: The mainland Chinese government rarely comments on a single entity, which is why Governor Yi’s thoughts are alarming. “First, we’re going to try to prevent contagion to other real estate companies. Second, we’ll prevent contagion to other parts of the financial sector.” This self-inflicted wound will require a tourniquet to stop the bleeding; expect non-D-SIFI bank and insurer failures in mainland China.

*Loan Defaults and USD Bond Payments Set To Continue:  China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) [Evergrande] magically made an 11th hour interest payment of USD 83.5 mn to bondholders on Friday, October 22, 2021 – escaping default by the skin of its teeth, just as its 30-day grace period with bondholders was about to end. While the market is worried about a China Huarong Asset Management (2799.HK) default crippling the country’s USD credit market, they too should understand that any bond default by Evergande likely roils this market as well; and* Worrisome Comments By  PBOC Governor Yi: The mainland Chinese government rarely comments on a single entity, which is why Governor Yi’s thoughts are alarming. “First, we’re going to try to prevent contagion to other real estate companies. Second, we’ll prevent contagion to other parts of the financial sector.” This self-inflicted wound will require a tourniquet to stop the bleeding; expect non-D-SIFI bank and insurer failures in mainland China.

China Evergrande Group – China’s Wrecking Ball

IPOs and Catalysts/Events, Global Equity Research Ltd

Arun George

IPOs and Catalysts/Events

Uncompromised, Independent, Conflict-Free Research

Global Equity Research Ltd

Global Equity Research was started in 2017 by a group of experienced research professionals. It was founded on a passionate belief in the importance and the need for uncompromised, independent, conflict-free research. We aim to provide differentiated and actionable primary and bottom up fundamental research.

<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/fwd-group-holdings" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:34332:1" rel="noopener">FWD Group Holdings (FWD US)</a> is a Pan-Asia insurer founded in 2013 by Richard Li. FWD is seeking to raise $2 billion through an NYSE IPO and a valuation between $13 billion and $15 billion, according to press reports. In <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/fwd-group-ipo-forward-march" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:58263" rel="noopener">FWD Group IPO: Forward March</a>, we stated that in the long-term, FWD’s compelling customer propositions and multi-channel distribution across different geographies within Asia will likely support further market share gains. FWD notes that there remains significant potential for cross-selling and up-selling to its millennial customers (59% of organic new individual policyholders in 1H21) as they advance through different life stages and gain spending power. On balance, we concluded that FWD has sufficient headroom to continue to gain market share while improving profitability. <div class="content-highlight">A successful listing of FWD will provide investors with a new proxy for Asian insurance growth vs well-established names such as <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/aia-group-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:14895:1" rel="noopener">AIA Group Ltd (1299 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/prudential-plc-4b9124ab-0799-4543-abca-bac6f31da5b6" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:34048:1" rel="noopener">Prudential PLC (2378 HK)</a>. Prudential’s recent oversubscribed share offer which raised US$2.4 billion in Hong Kong will help grow its investor base in Hong Kong and increase the liquidity of its shares on the HKEx. In this context, there is increasing interest in drawing comparisons between FWD, AIA and Prudential. In this note, we compare the insurers’ actuarial assumptions and key metrics across FWD’s key regions.  </div>

FWD Group Holdings (FWD US) is a Pan-Asia insurer founded in 2013 by Richard Li. FWD is seeking to raise $2 billion through an NYSE IPO and a valuation between $13 billion and $15 billion, according to press reports. In FWD Group IPO: Forward March, we stated that in the long-term, FWD’s compelling customer propositions and multi-channel distribution across different geographies within Asia will likely support further market share gains. FWD notes that there remains significant potential for cross-selling and up-selling to its millennial customers (59% of organic new individual policyholders in 1H21) as they advance through different life stages and gain spending power. On balance, we concluded that FWD has sufficient headroom to continue to gain market share while improving profitability. A successful listing of FWD will provide investors with a new proxy for Asian insurance growth vs well-established names such as AIA Group Ltd (1299 HK) and Prudential PLC (2378 HK). Prudential’s recent oversubscribed share offer which raised US$2.4 billion in Hong Kong will help grow its investor base in Hong Kong and increase the liquidity of its shares on the HKEx. In this context, there is increasing interest in drawing comparisons between FWD, AIA and Prudential. In this note, we compare the insurers’ actuarial assumptions and key metrics across FWD’s key regions.  

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One, Periscope Analytics

Brian Freitas

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One

Event-Driven

The Ping An A-shares <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ping-an-insurance-group-co-of-china" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24682:1" rel="noopener">Ping An Insurance Group Co Of China (601318 CH)</a> are trading at a 11% premium to the H-shares <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ping-an-insurance-grp-co-of-china-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12880:1" rel="noopener">Ping An Insurance (H) (2318 HK)</a>. This continues the cycle of premiums and discounts going back to 2015.The last time the A-shares traded at a premium this large to the H-shares was in December last year. By mid to late January, the A-shares were trading near parity versus the H-shares.With <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ping-an-insurance-group-co-of-china" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24682:1" rel="noopener">Ping An Insurance Group Co Of China (601318 CH)</a> trading at a 11% premium to <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ping-an-insurance-grp-co-of-china-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12880:1" rel="noopener">Ping An Insurance (H) (2318 HK)</a> the risk/reward is favourable to setting up a premium contraction trade. The current premium lies at the 95th percentile over the last 5 years and the premium has widened faster than that of the HSAHP Index.Northbound and Southbound Stock Connect holdings of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ping-an-insurance-group-co-of-china" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24682:1" rel="noopener">Ping An Insurance Group Co Of China (601318 CH)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ping-an-insurance-grp-co-of-china-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12880:1" rel="noopener">Ping An Insurance (H) (2318 HK)</a> have dropped sharply over the last couple of months, though there has been an uptick over the last couple of weeks.In this Insight, we look at the historical premium for Ping An and compare it to the premium on the AH index and other large caps, and look at some catalysts that could lead to an contraction of the premium.

The Ping An A-shares Ping An Insurance Group Co Of China (601318 CH) are trading at a 11% premium to the H-shares Ping An Insurance (H) (2318 HK). This continues the cycle of premiums and discounts going back to 2015.The last time the A-shares traded at a premium this large to the H-shares was in December last year. By mid to late January, the A-shares were trading near parity versus the H-shares.With Ping An Insurance Group Co Of China (601318 CH) trading at a 11% premium to Ping An Insurance (H) (2318 HK) the risk/reward is favourable to setting up a premium contraction trade. The current premium lies at the 95th percentile over the last 5 years and the premium has widened faster than that of the HSAHP Index.Northbound and Southbound Stock Connect holdings of Ping An Insurance Group Co Of China (601318 CH) and Ping An Insurance (H) (2318 HK) have dropped sharply over the last couple of months, though there has been an uptick over the last couple of weeks.In this Insight, we look at the historical premium for Ping An and compare it to the premium on the AH index and other large caps, and look at some catalysts that could lead to an contraction of the premium.

Ping An A/​H: Discount Turns to a BIG Premium

China

China Life Insurance Co., Limited offers a wide range of life, accident, and health insurance products and services.

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China Life Insurance Co (Adr) (LFC US)

China Pacific Insurance – Life Troubles

CHINA PACIFIC: CPIC reported a 3Q21 QOQ results decline of 38.5%, driven by both the Life and P&C units. The new CEO of CPIC Life mentioned that a...

Thomas J. Monaco

Ping An Insurance – Another Abysmal Result

PING AN: Ping An reported a QOQ 3Q21 results decline of 23.2%, attributed to its investment portfolio. Excluding PAB, whose results were managed,...

Thomas J. Monaco

China Evergrande Group – China’s Wrecking Ball

EVERGRANDE: Evergrande magically made an interest payment to bondholders, escaping default by the skin of its teeth. This self-inflicted wound...

Thomas J. Monaco

FWD Group Vs AIA Vs Prudential

FWD is seeking to raise $2 billion through an NYSE IPO. In this note, we compare FWD, AIA and Pru’s actuarial assumptions and key metrics across...

Arun George

Ping An A/H: Discount Turns to a BIG Premium

Ping An A-shs are now trading at a 11% premium to the H-shs. This is in the 95th percentile and is partly driven by the buyback on A-shs. We like a...

Brian Freitas

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52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

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China Pacific Insurance – Life Troubles

CHINA PACIFIC: CPIC reported a 3Q21 QOQ results decline of 38.5%, driven by both the Life and P&C units. The new CEO of CPIC Life mentioned that a...

Thomas J. Monaco

Ping An Insurance – Another Abysmal Result

PING AN: Ping An reported a QOQ 3Q21 results decline of 23.2%, attributed to its investment portfolio. Excluding PAB, whose results were managed,...

Thomas J. Monaco

China Evergrande Group – China’s Wrecking Ball

EVERGRANDE: Evergrande magically made an interest payment to bondholders, escaping default by the skin of its teeth. This self-inflicted wound...

Thomas J. Monaco

FWD Group Vs AIA Vs Prudential

FWD is seeking to raise $2 billion through an NYSE IPO. In this note, we compare FWD, AIA and Pru’s actuarial assumptions and key metrics across...

Arun George

Ping An A/​H: Discount Turns to a BIG Premium

Ping An A-shs are now trading at a 11% premium to the H-shs. This is in the 95th percentile and is partly driven by the buyback on A-shs. We like a...

Brian Freitas

Ping An A/H: Discount Turns to a BIG Premium