Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

Equity Bottom-Up

GS Engineering & Construction / Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>We argue that the top 20 listed construction companies in Korea are likely to underperform KOSPI in 2024 mainly due to the excessive risks in the housing/commercial real estate sectors.</li>
<li>We expect the share prices of these 20 domestic construction companies to fall by at least 15%-20%+ on average in the next 6-12 months. </li>
<li>On 2 January 2024, Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) announced that there will be new reporting requirements for PF loans of Korean construction companies starting 2023 annual reports.</li>
</ul>


We argue that the top 20 listed construction companies in Korea are likely to underperform KOSPI in 2024 mainly due to the excessive risks in the housing/commercial real estate sectors.
We expect the share prices of these 20 domestic construction companies to fall by at least 15%-20%+ on average in the next 6-12 months. 
On 2 January 2024, Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) announced that there will be new reporting requirements for PF loans of Korean construction companies starting 2023 annual reports.


Top 20 Korean Construction Companies: Off-Balance Sheet Contingent Liabilities To Drive Lower Prices

ESG Analyst, Who's Good

Heejeong (Hollie) Park

ESG Analyst

ASIA’S FIRST AI-DRIVEN ESG INSIGHT PROVIDER

Who's Good

Using AI technologies and public data, Who’s Good provides objective and up-to-date corporate ESG insights on Asian companies.

WHY WHO'S GOOD

* Time-sensitive: Time is the essence in finance. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can process vast amount of information in a short span of time. Our powerful algorithm offers real-time in-depth corporate ESG analysis with out compromising its quality.
* Objective: We turned to public big data and news big data as source to base our analysis on and to preserve impartiality. We leverage 350 public big data sources and 93 news data sources in Korea to uncover insights.
* Insightful: Who’s Good ESG analysis coverage extends to all listed and non-listed companies in Korea. This allows us to provide a comprehensive insight into the Korean market.
* Global approach to ESG: Our ESG research framework is built on international standards and principles including UN Global Compact, ISO 26000, ICGN and CFA Guidelines on Corporate Governance to meet the global standards.

<ul>
<li>The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's investigation revealed that the collapse of GS E&amp;C's underground parking lot was due to deficiencies in design, construction, and supervision.</li>
<li>As a response, GS E&amp;C will undergo a comprehensive reconstruction of the entire apartment complex, costing approximately KRW 300 billion, which is equivalent to approximately USD 264 million.</li>
<li>ESG risks have risen due to consumer relations regarding occupational health and safety and risk oversight, with GS E&amp;C's company risk rating at a ‘very high’ level of 3.1.</li>
</ul>


The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's investigation revealed that the collapse of GS E&amp;C's underground parking lot was due to deficiencies in design, construction, and supervision.
As a response, GS E&amp;C will undergo a comprehensive reconstruction of the entire apartment complex, costing approximately KRW 300 billion, which is equivalent to approximately USD 264 million.
ESG risks have risen due to consumer relations regarding occupational health and safety and risk oversight, with GS E&amp;C's company risk rating at a ‘very high’ level of 3.1.


GS E&Cㅣ Underground Parking Lot Collapse Incidentㅣ Full-Scale Reconstruction and Rising Risks

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

Brian Freitas

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>Solactive has announced the constituent changes for the Global Uranium &amp; Nuclear Components Index. There are 8 adds and 1 delete with implementation at the close on 4 February.</li>
<li>Prior to the rebalance, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/bhp-billiton-plc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:21840:1" rel="noopener">BHP Billiton (BLT LN)</a> will be deleted at the close on 28 January following Unification with <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/bhp-group-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:147:1" rel="noopener">BHP Group (BHP AU)</a>.</li>
<li>The flows on the stocks are small, but there is a big impact on the inclusions in Australia. <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/global-x-uranium-etf" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:32107:1" rel="noopener">Global X Uranium ETF (URA US)</a> will buy around 5.5% of float.</li>
</ul>


Solactive has announced the constituent changes for the Global Uranium &amp; Nuclear Components Index. There are 8 adds and 1 delete with implementation at the close on 4 February.
Prior to the rebalance, BHP Billiton (BLT LN) will be deleted at the close on 28 January following Unification with BHP Group (BHP AU).
The flows on the stocks are small, but there is a big impact on the inclusions in Australia. Global X Uranium ETF (URA US) will buy around 5.5% of float.


Solactive Global Uranium & Nuclear Components Index Rebalance: Most Adds in Oz

<ul>
<li>On 22 May, it was announced that Sambu Construction was invited to the Ukraine Global Reconstruction Forum held in Warsaw and Krakow, Poland from 22 to 25 May. </li>
<li>Sambu Construction is likely to be one of the Korean construction companies to be involved in the Ukraine reconstruction projects. </li>
<li>The total cost of reconstruction of Ukraine has been estimated from about $0.4 trillion to $1.1 trillion.</li>
</ul>


On 22 May, it was announced that Sambu Construction was invited to the Ukraine Global Reconstruction Forum held in Warsaw and Krakow, Poland from 22 to 25 May. 
Sambu Construction is likely to be one of the Korean construction companies to be involved in the Ukraine reconstruction projects. 
The total cost of reconstruction of Ukraine has been estimated from about $0.4 trillion to $1.1 trillion.


Sambu Construction: Likely to Be Included in Ukraine Reconstruction Projects

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>There has been a sharp increase in unsold housing units in Korea. There were 68k unsold housing units in Korea at the end of 2022, up 278% YoY</li>
<li>Unsold housing units is likely to get worse in Korea in the coming months driven by higher housing units supply, stubbornly high interest rates, and increasing probability of global recession. </li>
<li>We believe there is a sound trading opportunity of shorting a basket of large construction stocks including Hyundai E&amp;C, GS E&amp;C, and Daewoo E&amp;C over the next 6-12 months.</li>
</ul>


There has been a sharp increase in unsold housing units in Korea. There were 68k unsold housing units in Korea at the end of 2022, up 278% YoY
Unsold housing units is likely to get worse in Korea in the coming months driven by higher housing units supply, stubbornly high interest rates, and increasing probability of global recession. 
We believe there is a sound trading opportunity of shorting a basket of large construction stocks including Hyundai E&amp;C, GS E&amp;C, and Daewoo E&amp;C over the next 6-12 months.


A Sharp Increase in Unsold Housing Units in Korea: A Trading Opportunity

South Korea

GS Engineering & Construction Corp. contracts civil engineering and architectural works, residential and commercial building constructions, and plant installations.  The Company also builds educational, leisure, distribution, and environmental facilities.

GS Engineering & Construction (006360 KS)

GS Engineering & Construction (006360 KS)

Top 20 Korean Construction Companies: Off-Balance Sheet Contingent Liabilities To Drive Lower Prices

Lotte Chemical (011170 KS)'s share price declined by 9.1% YTD. Lotte Chemical has a 44.02% stake in Lotte Construction whose PF loan balance as...

Douglas Kim

GS E&Cㅣ Underground Parking Lot Collapse Incidentㅣ Full-Scale Reconstruction and Rising Risks

Explore the ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) risks resulting from GS E&C’s underground parking lot collapse incident.

Heejeong (Hollie) Park

Solactive Global Uranium & Nuclear Components Index Rebalance: Most Adds in Oz

There are 8 adds and 1 delete for the Solactive Global Uranium & Nuclear Components Index to be implemented at the close on 4 February. There isn't...

Brian Freitas

Sambu Construction: Likely to Be Included in Ukraine Reconstruction Projects

Sambu Construction is likely to be one of the Korean construction companies to be involved in the Ukraine reconstruction projects.

Douglas Kim

A Sharp Increase in Unsold Housing Units in Korea: A Trading Opportunity

We believe there is a sound trading opportunity of shorting a basket of large construction stocks including Hyundai E&C, GS E&C, and Daewoo E&C...

Douglas Kim