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

*Quarter Highlighted By Weak Credit: Ping An Bank (000001.CH) [PAB], the Ping An Insurance (2318.HK) [Ping An] banking subsidiary, reported 3Q21 results of CNY 11.7 bn – increasing CNY 4.1 bn (55.0%). Don’t shoot off the streamers just yet, credit quality was abysmal and Ping An is seemingly pulling on its bank lever to offset what looks to be another quarter self-inflicted harm  within its investment portfolio;  and *Credit Challenges: 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 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.

*Quarter Highlighted By Weak Credit: Ping An Bank (000001.CH) [PAB], the Ping An Insurance (2318.HK) [Ping An] banking subsidiary, reported 3Q21 results of CNY 11.7 bn – increasing CNY 4.1 bn (55.0%). Don’t shoot off the streamers just yet, credit quality was abysmal and Ping An is seemingly pulling on its bank lever to offset what looks to be another quarter self-inflicted harm  within its investment portfolio;  and *Credit Challenges: 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 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.

Financials & FinTech research, Galliano’s Financials Research

Victor Galliano

Financials & FinTech research

Financials & FinTech, EM & Developed Markets

Galliano’s Financials Research

Galliano's Financials Research provides fundamental research in Emerging Markets financials, including FinTech, as well as financials in select Developed Markets.

The investment style applied is generally value oriented, although Growth At Reasonable Price (GARP) strategies can also be used where appropriate. 

Our investment research approach aim is often contrarian, looking to capitalise on overly sceptical or optimistic consensus views. In terms of valuation techniques, the focus is on PBV ratio to ROE, PE multiples and dividend yield, as well as the application of PEG ratios and, where appropriate, Sum of the Parts (SOTP) valuations.

China Merchants Bank H / Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>In this report we conduct a credit quality review of eleven Chinese banks ahead of 3Q21 results, in the light of the Evergrande and real estate sector headwinds; we also assess the banks’ profitability ratios and their capacity to absorb increasing credit losses</li>
<li>We examine the NPL provisioning levels of Chinese banks and, more importantly, we supplement domestic headline NPL ratio metrics with their domestic category of Special Mention loans</li>
<li>In addition, we compare these domestic metrics to internationally recognised IFRS yardsticks of stage 2 and Stage 3 loans</li>
<li>A recent academic study estimates that Chinese banks’ loan delinquency levels could be two to four times higher than the stated NPL ratio, due largely to “hidden” NPLs through off balance sheet exposures</li>
<li>With the increased concern regarding real estate and mortgage exposures in particular, we research on-balance credit quality metrics in this report, broadening and deepening the credit quality assessment of Chinese banks with the aim to better capture credit impairments as well as sub-standard credit quality</li>
<li>We conclude that the best placed Chinese banks to weather the worsening headwinds on credit quality are <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-merchants-bank-co-ltd-3388a037-4214-4997-b45d-520518cfdb57" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:10987:1" rel="noopener">China Merchants Bank H (3968 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/postal-savings-bank-of-china" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22848:1" rel="noopener">Postal Savings Bank of China (1658 HK)</a> with <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/industrial-and-commercial-bank-of-china-limited" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1119:1" rel="noopener">ICBC (H) (1398 HK)</a> being one name to watch; the most exposed to further credit quality deterioration, in our view, are <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-minsheng-banking-h" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8983:1" rel="noopener">China Minsheng Banking H (1988 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-citic-bank-corp-ltd-ea6c25fd-4b20-45cb-a4a6-df7a60136f03" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:653:1" rel="noopener">China Citic Bank Corp Ltd H (998 HK)</a> </li>
<li>Risks to our positive view on PSBC and China Merchants Bank include worse than expected delinquency ratios going forward, especially in mortgage and real estate, driving cost of risk charges higher; upside risks to our negative view on China Minsheng Bank and China CITIC Bank include better than expected credit quality easing the pressure on cost of risk charges</li>
</ul>


In this report we conduct a credit quality review of eleven Chinese banks ahead of 3Q21 results, in the light of the Evergrande and real estate sector headwinds; we also assess the banks’ profitability ratios and their capacity to absorb increasing credit losses
We examine the NPL provisioning levels of Chinese banks and, more importantly, we supplement domestic headline NPL ratio metrics with their domestic category of Special Mention loans
In addition, we compare these domestic metrics to internationally recognised IFRS yardsticks of stage 2 and Stage 3 loans
A recent academic study estimates that Chinese banks’ loan delinquency levels could be two to four times higher than the stated NPL ratio, due largely to “hidden” NPLs through off balance sheet exposures
With the increased concern regarding real estate and mortgage exposures in particular, we research on-balance credit quality metrics in this report, broadening and deepening the credit quality assessment of Chinese banks with the aim to better capture credit impairments as well as sub-standard credit quality
We conclude that the best placed Chinese banks to weather the worsening headwinds on credit quality are China Merchants Bank H (3968 HK) and Postal Savings Bank of China (1658 HK) with ICBC (H) (1398 HK) being one name to watch; the most exposed to further credit quality deterioration, in our view, are China Minsheng Banking H (1988 HK) and China Citic Bank Corp Ltd H (998 HK) 
Risks to our positive view on PSBC and China Merchants Bank include worse than expected delinquency ratios going forward, especially in mortgage and real estate, driving cost of risk charges higher; upside risks to our negative view on China Minsheng Bank and China CITIC Bank include better than expected credit quality easing the pressure on cost of risk charges


Chinese Banks – Focusing on the Credit Quality Challenge

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

*Shenjing Fell Apart Before Evergrande Heated Up: Even prior to the China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) debacle, Shenjing Bank was (2066.HK) [Shenjing] struggling: 1) core operating earnings (excluding gains) were a negative CNY 1.1 tn at 1H21, by our calculation; and 2) short-term liquidity deteriorated at an unprecedented pace. With Evergrande’s risk, we calculate Shenjing’s NPLs are now closer to a whopping 24.4% - and solvency is called into question; and  *Evergrande’s Smartest Move Ever: The rest of the financial system figured out that Shenjing was an accident waiting to happen, with the interbank market cutting their risk. Despite this, Shengjing Finance Holdings (SFH) purchased Evergrande’s 19.93% stake – becoming the bank’s largest shareholder. For USD 1.55 bn, SFH has now absolved Evergrande of being a liquidity and capital backstop. Well done!

*Shenjing Fell Apart Before Evergrande Heated Up: Even prior to the China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) debacle, Shenjing Bank was (2066.HK) [Shenjing] struggling: 1) core operating earnings (excluding gains) were a negative CNY 1.1 tn at 1H21, by our calculation; and 2) short-term liquidity deteriorated at an unprecedented pace. With Evergrande’s risk, we calculate Shenjing’s NPLs are now closer to a whopping 24.4% - and solvency is called into question; and  *Evergrande’s Smartest Move Ever: The rest of the financial system figured out that Shenjing was an accident waiting to happen, with the interbank market cutting their risk. Despite this, Shengjing Finance Holdings (SFH) purchased Evergrande’s 19.93% stake – becoming the bank’s largest shareholder. For USD 1.55 bn, SFH has now absolved Evergrande of being a liquidity and capital backstop. Well done! 

China Evergrande Group – Shoes Dropping At Shenjing

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

Cross Asset Strategy

<div>
In this analysis, we provide a detailed overview of investor positioning among 96 active Asia Ex-Japan funds with combined AUM of $80bn.  Highlights:
</div>
<div>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The big four of China &amp; HK, Taiwan, South Korea and India dominate holdings in Asia Ex-Japan.  The 4 countries combined account for 85.4% of total allocations, though all but India are held underweight versus the MSCI Asia Ex-Japan index.</li>
<li>China &amp; HK's weight in Asia Ex-Japan funds stands at a 4-year low of 42.96% having fallen heavily from the high of 52% back in August 2020.</li>
<li>Allocations in Indian stocks hit a new all-time high last month of 13.54%.  India has been the go-to overweight holding since the election of Narendra Modi in 2014, though managers are much more closely aligned to benchmark today.</li>
<li>
Indonesian allocations are close to their lowest levels on record.  Only 82.8% of the Asia Ex-Japan managers in our analysis have exposure to Indonesia,  with Comgest, Barings and Vontobel closing exposure over the last 6-months.
</li>
<li>Information Technology dominates the holdings picture, being both the largest sector holding and the largest sector overweight by some distance.  Opposing this are net underweights in Health Care (-1.61%), Materials (-1.25%) and Financials (-1.17%). </li>
<li>The key antagonist in China's tech crackdown, Consumer Discretionary weights have fallen from a high of 21.35% in October 2020 to 16.84% today.  In tandem, active managers have moved from an overweight of 2.18% to an underweight of -0.12%.  Confidence has certainly taken a knock.</li>
</ul>
Also analyzed in more detail:  Thailand, Health Care, Indian Financials, South Korean Consumer Staples, China Financials, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/baidu-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:179:1" rel="noopener">Baidu (BIDU US)</a> , <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sea-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8509:1" rel="noopener">Sea Ltd (SE US)</a> , <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/midea-group-co-ltd-a" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:16185:1" rel="noopener">Midea Group Co Ltd A (000333 CH)</a> and <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>
Analysis taken from our Asia Ex-Japan research, covering 96 active Asia Ex-Japan funds with combined AUM of $80bn. 
</div>


In this analysis, we provide a detailed overview of investor positioning among 96 active Asia Ex-Japan funds with combined AUM of $80bn.  Highlights:



The big four of China &amp; HK, Taiwan, South Korea and India dominate holdings in Asia Ex-Japan.  The 4 countries combined account for 85.4% of total allocations, though all but India are held underweight versus the MSCI Asia Ex-Japan index.
China &amp; HK's weight in Asia Ex-Japan funds stands at a 4-year low of 42.96% having fallen heavily from the high of 52% back in August 2020.
Allocations in Indian stocks hit a new all-time high last month of 13.54%.  India has been the go-to overweight holding since the election of Narendra Modi in 2014, though managers are much more closely aligned to benchmark today.

Indonesian allocations are close to their lowest levels on record.  Only 82.8% of the Asia Ex-Japan managers in our analysis have exposure to Indonesia,  with Comgest, Barings and Vontobel closing exposure over the last 6-months.

Information Technology dominates the holdings picture, being both the largest sector holding and the largest sector overweight by some distance.  Opposing this are net underweights in Health Care (-1.61%), Materials (-1.25%) and Financials (-1.17%). 
The key antagonist in China's tech crackdown, Consumer Discretionary weights have fallen from a high of 21.35% in October 2020 to 16.84% today.  In tandem, active managers have moved from an overweight of 2.18% to an underweight of -0.12%.  Confidence has certainly taken a knock.

Also analyzed in more detail:  Thailand, Health Care, Indian Financials, South Korean Consumer Staples, China Financials, Baidu (BIDU US) , Sea Ltd (SE US) , Midea Group Co Ltd A (000333 CH) and JD.com Inc (ADR) (JD US).
Analysis taken from our Asia Ex-Japan research, covering 96 active Asia Ex-Japan funds with combined AUM of $80bn. 


Asia Ex-Japan Positioning:  India & Tech at Record Highs

China

China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd. operates as a commercial bank. The Company provides deposits, loans, wealth management, asset custody, finance leasing, investment banking, and other banking services. China Merchants Bank conducts businesses domestically and internationally.

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China Merchants Bank H (3968 HK)

Ping An Insurance – Breaking The Bank

PING AN: PAB reported 3Q21 QOQ growth of 55.0%. Credit quality was abysmal and Ping An is pulling on its bank lever to offset another quarter self...

Thomas J. Monaco

Chinese Banks – Focusing on the Credit Quality Challenge

Chinese bank headline NPLs understate the system's credit risks at a problematic time; looking beyond the stated NPLs, we like China Merchants &...

Victor Galliano

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

China Evergrande Group – Shoes Dropping At Shenjing

EVERGRANDE: Before the Evergrande debacle, Shenjing posted core operating losses and liquidity stress. Despite this, Shengjing Finance absolved...

Thomas J. Monaco

Asia Ex-Japan Positioning: India & Tech at Record Highs

In this analysis, we provide a detailed overview of investor positioning among 96 active Asia Ex-Japan funds with combined AUM of $80bn.

Steven Holden

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

Ping An Insurance – Breaking The Bank

PING AN: PAB reported 3Q21 QOQ growth of 55.0%. Credit quality was abysmal and Ping An is pulling on its bank lever to offset another quarter self...

Thomas J. Monaco

Chinese Banks – Focusing on the Credit Quality Challenge

Chinese bank headline NPLs understate the system's credit risks at a problematic time; looking beyond the stated NPLs, we like China Merchants &...

Victor Galliano

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

China Evergrande Group – Shoes Dropping At Shenjing

EVERGRANDE: Before the Evergrande debacle, Shenjing posted core operating losses and liquidity stress. Despite this, Shengjing Finance absolved...

Thomas J. Monaco

Asia Ex-Japan Positioning: India & Tech at Record Highs

In this analysis, we provide a detailed overview of investor positioning among 96 active Asia Ex-Japan funds with combined AUM of $80bn.

Steven Holden

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