Research from Asian Century Stocks, Asian Century Stocks

Michael Fritzell

Research from Asian Century Stocks

Providing financial journalism in the Asia-Pacific

Asian Century Stocks

Asian Century Stocks is a newsletter providing financial journalism for companies and stocks in the Asia-Pacific. 
The Asian Century Stocks logotype “百” stands for “one hundred” or a “century”. The economic centre of gravity is moving towards Asia. Yet most global investors are missing out.

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>In the book Free Capital, the private investor Vernon talks about his strategy of buying growth stocks when they encounter "glitches" – temporary market overreactions to negative events.</li>
<li>I try to catch that company when nobody wants it, while it is still working through its problems” - VernonSouth Korean e-commerce operator Coupang (CPNG US – US$26 billion) is a test of that idea.</li>
<li>The stock sold off after its cybersecurity breach in November 2025.</li>
</ul>


In the book Free Capital, the private investor Vernon talks about his strategy of buying growth stocks when they encounter "glitches" – temporary market overreactions to negative events.
I try to catch that company when nobody wants it, while it is still working through its problems” - VernonSouth Korean e-commerce operator Coupang (CPNG US – US$26 billion) is a test of that idea.
The stock sold off after its cybersecurity breach in November 2025.


Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

Douglas Research Advisory

<ul>
<li>I recently visited Daiso near Seoul Station. Daiso is one of the few off-line stores that has been crushing the competition in Korea in the past several years.</li>
<li>Amid continued weak economy in Korea in the past several years, Daiso has thrived through its detailed execution of focus on low priced products with highest value to consumers.</li>
<li>Able C&amp;C (078520 KS) is a prime example a company capitalizing on the strong demand for cosmetic products at Daiso. </li>
</ul>


I recently visited Daiso near Seoul Station. Daiso is one of the few off-line stores that has been crushing the competition in Korea in the past several years.
Amid continued weak economy in Korea in the past several years, Daiso has thrived through its detailed execution of focus on low priced products with highest value to consumers.
Able C&amp;C (078520 KS) is a prime example a company capitalizing on the strong demand for cosmetic products at Daiso. 


A Visit to Daiso in Seoul - A Retail Giant Crushing the Competition

Independent research on the U.S. markets, Baptista Research

Baptista Research

Independent research on the U.S. markets

Baptista Research is an independent financial research house focused on the U.S. markets. We provide equity research as well as credit research reports on the top-listed U.S. companies with most of our focus on technology, consumer goods and services, automobiles, industrials, oil and gas, pharma, and healthcare. Our research has served more than 3000 institutional investors including mutual funds, hedge funds, banks, family offices, and various buy-side firms. We operate a research subscription service where institutions, as well as retail investors, can have priority access to all our research. We also have a wide distribution of our research reports across some of the top global financial platforms. Apart from equity research and credit research, we also provide advisory services with respect to mergers & acquisitions (M&A), private equity/ venture capital fundraising, valuation reports, and investment management services for corporates.
Baptista Research is owned and managed by Ishan Majumdar, an ex-Venture Capitalist/ Investment Banker, a Chartered Accountant, and a Masters’ degree holder in Management from HEC Paris. Ishan has nearly a decade of experience in Mergers and Acquisitions, Leveraged Buyouts (LBOs), Venture Capital Investing, Corporate Strategy, and Valuation in front-office roles at the likes of BNP Paribas CIB, Credit Agricole CIB, Groupe Danone, and TIW Private Equity. He has worked on and closed multiple acquisition deals, leveraged buyouts, and start-up investment transactions.

<ul>
<li>Coupang’s second-quarter 2026 results reflect a complex recovery phase following a disruptive data incident that affected customer behavior and financial performance.</li>
<li>Consolidated revenue grew by 10% year-over-year on a constant currency basis, marking an improvement from the previous quarter and aligning with prior guidance.</li>
<li>Product Commerce revenue grew 8% on a constant currency basis, with active customers increasing to 24.7 million, driven by returning higher-spending customers and new customer additions.</li>
</ul>


Coupang’s second-quarter 2026 results reflect a complex recovery phase following a disruptive data incident that affected customer behavior and financial performance.
Consolidated revenue grew by 10% year-over-year on a constant currency basis, marking an improvement from the previous quarter and aligning with prior guidance.
Product Commerce revenue grew 8% on a constant currency basis, with active customers increasing to 24.7 million, driven by returning higher-spending customers and new customer additions.


Coupang’s 24.7 Million Customer Engine: Is The Post-Incident Recovery Finally Taking Hold?

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>There are signs that the South Korean REIT market may have bottomed in the past 3-6 months after significant market underperformance from 2021 to 4Q 2023.</li>
<li>The 16 major Korean REIT stocks are up on average 5% YTD, outperforming KOSPI which is up 1.4% in the same period.</li>
<li>Differential in REIT dividend yield/Korean bond yield, meaningful discount to NAV, and increased capital allocation from Corporate Value Up program have been driving outperformance of Korean REIT stocks this year.</li>
</ul>


There are signs that the South Korean REIT market may have bottomed in the past 3-6 months after significant market underperformance from 2021 to 4Q 2023.
The 16 major Korean REIT stocks are up on average 5% YTD, outperforming KOSPI which is up 1.4% in the same period.
Differential in REIT dividend yield/Korean bond yield, meaningful discount to NAV, and increased capital allocation from Corporate Value Up program have been driving outperformance of Korean REIT stocks this year.


Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

David Blennerhassett

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Quiddity Advisors

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>Despite trading up from its multi-year low implied stub and simple ratio (<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/softbank-group-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:315:1" rel="noopener">Softbank Group (9984 JP)</a>/<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/arm-holdings-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:21816:1" rel="noopener">ARM Holdings (ARM US)</a>), SoftBank remains "cheap".</li>
<li>Preceding my comments on SoftBank - and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ytl-corp-bhd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8553:1" rel="noopener">YTL Corp (YTL MK)</a>- are the current setup/unwind tables for Asia-Pacific Holdcos.</li>
<li>These relationships trade with a minimum liquidity of US$1mn, and a % market capitalisation &gt;20%.</li>
</ul>


Despite trading up from its multi-year low implied stub and simple ratio (Softbank Group (9984 JP)/ARM Holdings (ARM US)), SoftBank remains "cheap".
Preceding my comments on SoftBank - and YTL Corp (YTL MK)- are the current setup/unwind tables for Asia-Pacific Holdcos.
These relationships trade with a minimum liquidity of US$1mn, and a % market capitalisation &gt;20%.


StubWorld: A SoftBank Set-Up Hinges Off Its All-In OpenAI Bet

South Korea

Coupang, Inc. operates as an e-commerce company. The Company offers dynamic end-to-end e-commerce and logistic solutions. Coupang serves customers worldwide.

Price Gauge
52-week Range	0.00 - 0.00
Market Cap (USDm)	0.00
P/E	0.00
Dividend (Yield)	0.00

Coupang (CPNG US)

Coupang (CPNG US): A Temporary Glitch?

In the book Free Capital, the private investor Vernon talks about his strategy of buying growth stocks when they encounter "glitches" – temporary...

Asian Century Stocks

A Visit to Daiso in Seoul - A Retail Giant Crushing the Competition

I recently visited Daiso near Seoul Station. Daiso is one of the few off-line stores that has been crushing the competition in Korea in the past...

Douglas Kim

Coupang’s 24.7 Million Customer Engine: Is The Post-Incident Recovery Finally Taking Hold?

Coupang’s second-quarter 2026 results reflect a complex recovery phase following a disruptive data incident that affected customer behavior and...

Baptista Research

South Korean REITs May Have Bottomed

There are signs that the South Korean REIT market may have bottomed in the past 3-6 months after significant market underperformance from 2021 to...

Douglas Kim

StubWorld: A SoftBank Set-Up Hinges Off Its All-In OpenAI Bet

From an implied stub angle, and IF you have a strong opinion on OpenAI, I might be inclined to set up the stub here. The simple ratio - SoftBank...

David Blennerhassett

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)