Asian Insight Provider - Actionable ideas, CrossASEAN Research

Henry Soediarko

Asian Insight Provider - Actionable ideas

CrossASEAN Research

At CrossASEAN Research we strive to produce unbiased and differentiated on the ground insights on companies across South East Asia. Our Research is produced for the most part after face to face meetings and conversations with company management to dig deep into the long term vision and strategy of the companies we cover. We seek to deliver investable and actionable themes on sectors and markets across SE Asia, often in collaboration with other Insight Providers across the region, pooling the vast experience of the analysts within the Smartkarma Ecosystem. We also offer bespoke work and tailor made trips for our clients. 

Insights across South East Asia

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

The tech break up is not happening soon but the regulators have been more vocal and active in penalizing the Big Tech companies. In the US, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/facebook-inc-a" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:665:1" rel="noopener">Facebook Inc A (FB US)</a> was sued over monopoly concern and the EU has issued Digital Services Act that aims to create better chances for smaller developers to compete in the Apple and Google ecosystem. In China, the regulator has also been more stringent on the Big Tech, starting with the cancelation of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ant-financial-services-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24240:1" rel="noopener">Ant Group (6688 HK)</a> IPO and now potentially to ask <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tencent-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26:1" rel="noopener">Tencent Holdings (700 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/alibaba-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28434:1" rel="noopener">Alibaba Group (9988 HK)</a> to divest some of their investments. 
The smaller tech companies in China also have issues that their revenue growth rate has started to slow down considerably, therefore, reducing the potential to reach break-even unless they do a massive cost-cutting exercise. 
<figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/178/884/original/image_39996483941608095760408.png?1608095759" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="178884"></figure>
<div class="content-remarks">
source: Capital IQ
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If the Big Tech backer such as Tencent and Alibaba are told to reduce their holdings in the above shares, while the investees also do not much cash lying around in the balance sheet and trading at expensive valuation, there are two outcome possible - either a further capital raising that will send the shares multiples down or investors to start rotating into other sectors that also will send share price down. 
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The tech break up is not happening soon but the regulators have been more vocal and active in penalizing the Big Tech companies. In the US, Facebook Inc A (FB US) was sued over monopoly concern and the EU has issued Digital Services Act that aims to create better chances for smaller developers to compete in the Apple and Google ecosystem. In China, the regulator has also been more stringent on the Big Tech, starting with the cancelation of Ant Group (6688 HK) IPO and now potentially to ask Tencent Holdings (700 HK) and Alibaba Group (9988 HK) to divest some of their investments. 
The smaller tech companies in China also have issues that their revenue growth rate has started to slow down considerably, therefore, reducing the potential to reach break-even unless they do a massive cost-cutting exercise. 


source: Capital IQ


If the Big Tech backer such as Tencent and Alibaba are told to reduce their holdings in the above shares, while the investees also do not much cash lying around in the balance sheet and trading at expensive valuation, there are two outcome possible - either a further capital raising that will send the shares multiples down or investors to start rotating into other sectors that also will send share price down. 


Alpha-Centric ESG Research

Kyle Rudden

Oh, the inhumanity of Monopolium Inquisitorum, leviathans made to stand before the judgement of inquisitorial courts. Repent and reform, or burn in everlasting… fine, maybe just shed a few worldly possessions, WhatsApp would be a good start, and stop coveting thy neighbors' data so much.Big technology companies (aka "Big Tech") are the subject of ever-expanding antitrust inquisitions by regulators and courts around the world. In the U.S., informal inquiries into prominent members of FAANG by the U.S. Congress turned into formal antitrust suits, first Alphabet then Facebook.Yesterday, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced yet another inquiry, this one into the data collection practices of social media companies. It mentioned nine companies by name, a few of which are "new" to this conversation (ByteDance, Tencent-investee Discord, and Snap).This Insight looks at one particular ESG angle to this antitrust stuff. Specifically, the potential for antitrust investigations – not the outcomes, but the process – to trigger ESG ratings downgrades and, in turn, constituency changes to major ESG indices. Summary points, for the cover page:<ul>
<li>Antitrust investigations will inevitably result in additional ESG ratings downgrades, and since most ESG indices are constructed using those ratings, constituency changes are likely.</li>
<li>Index changes might not happen until annual reviews a few months from now, but they are not tied to eventual antitrust outcomes (e.g., breakups) that could be years away, or not at all.</li>
<li>Presently, Facebook and Alphabet are the only U.S. stocks that stand out vis-à-vis the potential for antitrust-driven changes to ESG ratings and/or ESG indices (more so for Facebook).</li>
<li>Let's be honest, we are not talking about Tesla being added to the S&amp;P 500. Even for larger ESG indices, index-linked AUM is comparatively small vis-à-vis broader market indices.</li>
<li>However, one thing keeps it interesting. ESG indices are bloated with Big Tech, many of which are right behind Facebook and Alphabet on the antitrust plank walk.</li>
</ul>Herein, I explain my thought process – antitrust, to ESG ratings downgrades, to ESG index changes – then cover Facebook and Alphabet in some detail (albeit limited by constraints). There is less to say about the other U.S. "antitrust stocks" at the moment, but that may change. More importantly, I am looking into something similar, but related to Asian stocks. So, more to come.

Oh, the inhumanity of Monopolium Inquisitorum, leviathans made to stand before the judgement of inquisitorial courts. Repent and reform, or burn in everlasting… fine, maybe just shed a few worldly possessions, WhatsApp would be a good start, and stop coveting thy neighbors' data so much.Big technology companies (aka "Big Tech") are the subject of ever-expanding antitrust inquisitions by regulators and courts around the world. In the U.S., informal inquiries into prominent members of FAANG by the U.S. Congress turned into formal antitrust suits, first Alphabet then Facebook.Yesterday, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced yet another inquiry, this one into the data collection practices of social media companies. It mentioned nine companies by name, a few of which are "new" to this conversation (ByteDance, Tencent-investee Discord, and Snap).This Insight looks at one particular ESG angle to this antitrust stuff. Specifically, the potential for antitrust investigations – not the outcomes, but the process – to trigger ESG ratings downgrades and, in turn, constituency changes to major ESG indices. Summary points, for the cover page:
Antitrust investigations will inevitably result in additional ESG ratings downgrades, and since most ESG indices are constructed using those ratings, constituency changes are likely.
Index changes might not happen until annual reviews a few months from now, but they are not tied to eventual antitrust outcomes (e.g., breakups) that could be years away, or not at all.
Presently, Facebook and Alphabet are the only U.S. stocks that stand out vis-à-vis the potential for antitrust-driven changes to ESG ratings and/or ESG indices (more so for Facebook).
Let's be honest, we are not talking about Tesla being added to the S&amp;P 500. Even for larger ESG indices, index-linked AUM is comparatively small vis-à-vis broader market indices.
However, one thing keeps it interesting. ESG indices are bloated with Big Tech, many of which are right behind Facebook and Alphabet on the antitrust plank walk.
Herein, I explain my thought process – antitrust, to ESG ratings downgrades, to ESG index changes – then cover Facebook and Alphabet in some detail (albeit limited by constraints). There is less to say about the other U.S. "antitrust stocks" at the moment, but that may change. More importantly, I am looking into something similar, but related to Asian stocks. So, more to come.

Big Tech Antitrust Scrutiny Could Mean ESG Ratings Downgrades, Constituency Changes for ESG Indices

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

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>The percentage of US active funds invested in Tesla has risen sharply over the course of the year.  A total of 18%, or 88 out of the 496 funds in our US analysis hold a position in Telsa.  Average fund weights across all funds is 0.42%, across Telsa holders is 2.34%.  </li>
<li>Total dollar holdings are at peak levels among the funds in our analysis, with combined AUM in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tesla-motors-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:20279:1" rel="noopener">Tesla Motors (TSLA US)</a> of $37.6bn among the 88 holders.  </li>
<li>Current holders have tended to sell in to strength this year, with $4.4bn in outflows as managers keep Telsa from dominating portfolios if left unchecked.</li>
<li>At current levels, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tesla-motors-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:20279:1" rel="noopener">Tesla Motors (TSLA US)</a> will join the ranks as one of the top underweight holdings among active US managers, currently led by <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/apple-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:666:1" rel="noopener">Apple Inc (AAPL US)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/microsoft-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:15273:1" rel="noopener">Microsoft Corp (MSFT US)</a> .  If no further buying occurs, Tesla will likely slot in to 4th place behind <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/amazon-com-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:409:1" rel="noopener">Amazon.com Inc (AMZN US</a> (assuming an inclusion weight of ~1.5%).</li>
<li>We expect buying pressure from benchmark aligned funds who are currently not invested in the stock.  Estimates of $5.8bn when analysing previous index inclusions <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/facebook-inc-a" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:665:1" rel="noopener">Facebook Inc A (FB US)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/berkshire-hathaway-inc-cl-b" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8635:1" rel="noopener">Berkshire Hathaway Inc Cl B (BRK/B US)</a> .</li>
<li>Potential $37bn of selling from active US funds, though current holders are long-term holders and not guaranteed to sell in to the rebalance.  We see an imbalance of buying from passive funds who may need to push prices significantly higher to entice these long-term holders to sell.</li>
</ul>Analysis taken from our US research, covering 496 active US equity funds with a combined AUM of $3.4tr.


The percentage of US active funds invested in Tesla has risen sharply over the course of the year.  A total of 18%, or 88 out of the 496 funds in our US analysis hold a position in Telsa.  Average fund weights across all funds is 0.42%, across Telsa holders is 2.34%.  
Total dollar holdings are at peak levels among the funds in our analysis, with combined AUM in Tesla Motors (TSLA US) of $37.6bn among the 88 holders.  
Current holders have tended to sell in to strength this year, with $4.4bn in outflows as managers keep Telsa from dominating portfolios if left unchecked.
At current levels, Tesla Motors (TSLA US) will join the ranks as one of the top underweight holdings among active US managers, currently led by Apple Inc (AAPL US) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT US) .  If no further buying occurs, Tesla will likely slot in to 4th place behind Amazon.com Inc (AMZN US (assuming an inclusion weight of ~1.5%).
We expect buying pressure from benchmark aligned funds who are currently not invested in the stock.  Estimates of $5.8bn when analysing previous index inclusions Facebook Inc A (FB US) and Berkshire Hathaway Inc Cl B (BRK/B US) .
Potential $37bn of selling from active US funds, though current holders are long-term holders and not guaranteed to sell in to the rebalance.  We see an imbalance of buying from passive funds who may need to push prices significantly higher to entice these long-term holders to sell.
Analysis taken from our US research, covering 496 active US equity funds with a combined AUM of $3.4tr.

Tesla Inclusion.  What Will Active US Funds Do?

Founder & CEO Bond Angle, LLC, Bond Angle, LLC

Vicki Bryan

Founder & CEO Bond Angle, LLC

Bond Angle, LLC

Insightful commentary and analysis on bond markets and market movers, including financial, economic, and industry catalysts and management shenanigans. 

High yield market investment research

Credit

<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tesla-motors-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:20279:1" rel="noopener">Tesla Motors (TSLA US)</a> CEO Elon Musk should be having a great week. But then the stock dropped on news the company plans to raise another $5 billion from selling stock. Then he complained to the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musk-decries-m-b-a-ization-of-america-11607548589" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wall Street Journal</a> that there were too many MBA-types paying too much attention to financial performance of companies and not enough on producing quality products.Which is very interesting because this seems to me to be exactly what Tesla does, not that it seemed to deter investors one bit from gobbling up its $5 billion secondary offering.<a href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/the-jobs-report-was-ugly-but-it-may-be-good-news-for-stocks-51607130127" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barron's</a> noticed it too, and how much Tesla,<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/doordash-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28881:1" rel="noopener">DoorDash Inc (DASH US)</a>, and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/airbnb-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:431:1" rel="noopener">Airbnb Inc (ABNBUS)</a> and other similarly inflated deals out this week felt like 1999—and not in a good way.

Tesla Motors (TSLA US) CEO Elon Musk should be having a great week. But then the stock dropped on news the company plans to raise another $5 billion from selling stock. Then he complained to the Wall Street Journal that there were too many MBA-types paying too much attention to financial performance of companies and not enough on producing quality products.Which is very interesting because this seems to me to be exactly what Tesla does, not that it seemed to deter investors one bit from gobbling up its $5 billion secondary offering.Barron's noticed it too, and how much Tesla,DoorDash Inc (DASH US), and Airbnb Inc (ABNBUS) and other similarly inflated deals out this week felt like 1999—and not in a good way.

Barron's Weighs in On "Frenzied Pops" Like Tesla Vs Wary Skeptics Like...

IPO and L/S equity, 2015 Starmine top stock picker, Global Equity Research Ltd

Rickin Thakrar

IPO and L/S equity, 2015 Starmine top stock picker

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.

NY Attorney General Letitia James filed an anti-trust lawsuit against <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/facebook-inc-a" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:665:1" rel="noopener">Facebook Inc A (FB US)</a> which is co-sponsored by Federal Trade Commission and 46 US states. This is not dissimilar to historical legal anti-trust challenges to break up big companies such as Microsoft and AT&amp;T.  While we believe this is unlikely to be resolved soon, we believe Facebook and Big Tech have drawn bipartisan ire due to concerns about anti-competitive behaviour and the spread of disinformation. Our thoughts on the litigation as well as operational concerns are below the fold. 
Our previous research on US regulatory matters and Facebook can be found here
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/us-congress-passes-bill-that-could-lead-to-the-delisting-of-chinese-companies-on-us-exchanges" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:46004" rel="noopener">US Congress Passes Bill that Could Lead to the Delisting of Chinese Companies on US Exchanges</a> 
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/lvmh-tiffany-oh-bernie-not-like-this" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:43151" rel="noopener">LVMH-Tiffany: Oh Bernie, Not like This.</a> 
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/facebook-4q-results-an-easy-beat-has-zuck-turned-the-tanker" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:27657" rel="noopener">Facebook 4Q Results: An Easy Beat - Has Zuck Turned the Tanker?</a> 
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/facebook-3q-results-are-the-fangs-safe-for-now" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:25513" rel="noopener">Facebook 3Q Results: Are the FANGS Safe...for Now?</a>

NY Attorney General Letitia James filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Facebook Inc A (FB US) which is co-sponsored by Federal Trade Commission and 46 US states. This is not dissimilar to historical legal anti-trust challenges to break up big companies such as Microsoft and AT&amp;T.  While we believe this is unlikely to be resolved soon, we believe Facebook and Big Tech have drawn bipartisan ire due to concerns about anti-competitive behaviour and the spread of disinformation. Our thoughts on the litigation as well as operational concerns are below the fold. 
Our previous research on US regulatory matters and Facebook can be found here
US Congress Passes Bill that Could Lead to the Delisting of Chinese Companies on US Exchanges 
LVMH-Tiffany: Oh Bernie, Not like This. 
Facebook 4Q Results: An Easy Beat - Has Zuck Turned the Tanker? 
Facebook 3Q Results: Are the FANGS Safe...for Now? 

Facebook and Antitrust - The Beginning of the End for Big-Tech?

United States

Meta Platforms Inc. operates as a social technology company. The Company builds applications and technologies that help people connect, find communities, and grow businesses. meta Platform is also involved in advertisements, augmented and virtual reality.

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Meta (META US)

Tech Sell-Off - Progress

Although the US and China are at so to say war, it is not too impossible that the Chinese and the US regulator will work together in order to curb...

Henry Soediarko

Big Tech Antitrust Scrutiny Could Mean ESG Ratings Downgrades, Constituency Changes for ESG Indices

Antitrust broaches several highly-material ESG issues. Growing antitrust scrutiny of "Big Tech" could lead to ESG rating downgrades, and in turn,...

Kyle Rudden

Tesla Inclusion. What Will Active US Funds Do?

What are the current levels of ownership in Tesla Motors? We analyse 496 US active funds with a combined AUM of $3.4tr to find out.

Steven Holden

Barron's Weighs in On "Frenzied Pops" Like Tesla Vs Wary Skeptics Like...

Barron's notes "frenzied" deals this week like Tesla, DoorDash, and AirBnB seem like 1999 exuberance all over again, but there also are "skilled"...

Vicki Bryan

Facebook and Antitrust - The Beginning of the End for Big-Tech?

NY Attorney General Letitia James filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Facebook Inc A (FB US) which is co-sponsored by Federal Trade Commission and...

Rickin Thakrar

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