Equity Analyst, Event-driven, Quiddity Advisors

Janaghan Jeyakumar, CFA

Equity Analyst, Event-driven

Quiddity Advisors

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>Some low liquidity stocks in the TOPIX Index carry a liquidity factor of 0.75x resulting in their actual index weights being smaller than their default weights.</li>
<li>These names are reviewed every April and if the liquidity factor of a stock gets removed, the stock will enjoy buying flows from passive trackers of TOPIX.</li>
<li>In this insight, we take a look at Quiddity's final predictions for the names that are likely to see their Liquidity Factors removed in April 2023.</li>
</ul>


Some low liquidity stocks in the TOPIX Index carry a liquidity factor of 0.75x resulting in their actual index weights being smaller than their default weights.
These names are reviewed every April and if the liquidity factor of a stock gets removed, the stock will enjoy buying flows from passive trackers of TOPIX.
In this insight, we take a look at Quiddity's final predictions for the names that are likely to see their Liquidity Factors removed in April 2023.


TOPIX Index Upweights: Final Predictions for The "The Big April Basket” 2023

<ul>
<li>The TOPIX liquidity factor removal names (upweights) for April 2023 were announced after the close on Friday 7th April 2023 as expected.</li>
<li>According to the announcement, 22 names will see their Liquidity Factors removed and experience index inflows later this month. </li>
<li>Today was the first day of trading post-announcement and the 22 names gained +1.1% (+0.47% vs the TOPIX Index). I feel there could be more upside for some names.</li>
</ul>


The TOPIX liquidity factor removal names (upweights) for April 2023 were announced after the close on Friday 7th April 2023 as expected.
According to the announcement, 22 names will see their Liquidity Factors removed and experience index inflows later this month. 
Today was the first day of trading post-announcement and the 22 names gained +1.1% (+0.47% vs the TOPIX Index). I feel there could be more upside for some names.


TOPIX Big April Basket 23: 100% Hit Rate for High Conviction Basket; Focus on Surprises Next

<ul>
<li>The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) calculates Free-Float Weight (FFW) for each listed company and uses this value as a key component of TOPIX Index Calculation. </li>
<li>For companies with "low liquidity" the FFW will be multiplied by a fixed liquidity factor of 0.75 to derive the final FFW used for index calculation. </li>
<li>Every April, the application of this liquidity factor is reviewed by the TSE. In this insight, we take an early look at what could happen in April 2023.</li>
</ul>


The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) calculates Free-Float Weight (FFW) for each listed company and uses this value as a key component of TOPIX Index Calculation. 
For companies with "low liquidity" the FFW will be multiplied by a fixed liquidity factor of 0.75 to derive the final FFW used for index calculation. 
Every April, the application of this liquidity factor is reviewed by the TSE. In this insight, we take an early look at what could happen in April 2023.


TOPIX Index Upweights: An Early Preview Of "The Big April Basket" 2023

Senior Bank Analyst - Japanese Banks, Windamee Research

J. Brian Waterhouse

Senior Bank Analyst - Japanese Banks

Windamee Research

Japanese Banks

Equity Bottom-Up

<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/fidea-holdings-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:17012:1" rel="noopener">Fidea Holdings (8713 JP) </a>from Miyagi Prefecture in Japan’s northern Tohoku Region has announced that Iwate-based <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tohoku-bank-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8169:1" rel="noopener">Tohoku Bank (8349 JP)</a> will become a wholly-owned subsidiary in October 2022, in an all-share deal.   The announcement, which was reported during market trading hours, sent both stock prices up almost 10% on Friday 2 July.  However, rather than presaging a new paradigm for these banks, the spike in the stock prices was simply a reminder of how essentially illiquid these stocks are. The shares retreated to their pre-announcement levels in the following week.Fidea Holdings is the holding company for the smallest of three banks from Yamagata Prefecture, Shonai Bank, and the smallest of two banks from Akita Prefecture, Hokuto Bank.  Tohoku Bank, from Iwate Prefecture, is the smallest of three banks based there, and roughly one-third the size of Fidea Holdings.  Far from being a ‘Band of Brothers’, the enlarged Fidea Holdings will, in effect, be little more than a school of minnows whose combined branch network of 149 branches, while nominally  covering the whole of the Tohoku Region, has little overlap; thus little opportunity to cut costs through closing competing branches or reducing the headcount significantly.  Significant inherent weaknesses in all three banks remain largely unaddressed.  It is difficult to see how simply integrating operations under a holding company structure will resolve them.While the announcement no doubt comes with the advance approval of the financial authorities, who are keen for regional banks to merge to strengthen their operations, it creates something of a dilemma for the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in that both institutions still owe taxpayers a combined total of ¥20 billion (US$181.8 million) in public funds.  Neither seems in a position to repay that capital any time soon, as we explain in this Insight.The Bank of Japan’s own ‘bad bank’, the Resolution &amp; Collection Corporation (RCC), is effectively the largest shareholder in both Fidea Holdings and Tohoku Bank through convertible preferred stock.  Will their debts be forgiven as part of the integration, or will the due date for the public funds repayment simply be extended for a further decade or so?  Will the RCC force conversion of its preferred stock into ordinary shares because of the merger, becoming overtly by far the largest shareholder?  What will be the impact of such a decision on investor sentiment for existing shareholders?  These are all important (and, for the time being, unanswerable) questions for investors.Foreign institutional investors own 12% of Fidea Holdings, and 4% of Tohoku Bank.  We fail to understand the attraction, given all the underlying weaknesses, as we detail in this Insight.  We view Friday’s ‘bounce’ in the stock prices of both Fidea Holdings and Tohoku Bank, on an unusual surge in trading volume, as a narrow ‘opportunity window’ for frustrated shareholders to exit both stocks and stay away thereafter.  That surge is over.  To those who were tempted to pile in we say:   Caveat Emptor! (May the Buyer Beware!).

Fidea Holdings (8713 JP) from Miyagi Prefecture in Japan’s northern Tohoku Region has announced that Iwate-based Tohoku Bank (8349 JP) will become a wholly-owned subsidiary in October 2022, in an all-share deal.   The announcement, which was reported during market trading hours, sent both stock prices up almost 10% on Friday 2 July.  However, rather than presaging a new paradigm for these banks, the spike in the stock prices was simply a reminder of how essentially illiquid these stocks are. The shares retreated to their pre-announcement levels in the following week.Fidea Holdings is the holding company for the smallest of three banks from Yamagata Prefecture, Shonai Bank, and the smallest of two banks from Akita Prefecture, Hokuto Bank.  Tohoku Bank, from Iwate Prefecture, is the smallest of three banks based there, and roughly one-third the size of Fidea Holdings.  Far from being a ‘Band of Brothers’, the enlarged Fidea Holdings will, in effect, be little more than a school of minnows whose combined branch network of 149 branches, while nominally  covering the whole of the Tohoku Region, has little overlap; thus little opportunity to cut costs through closing competing branches or reducing the headcount significantly.  Significant inherent weaknesses in all three banks remain largely unaddressed.  It is difficult to see how simply integrating operations under a holding company structure will resolve them.While the announcement no doubt comes with the advance approval of the financial authorities, who are keen for regional banks to merge to strengthen their operations, it creates something of a dilemma for the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in that both institutions still owe taxpayers a combined total of ¥20 billion (US$181.8 million) in public funds.  Neither seems in a position to repay that capital any time soon, as we explain in this Insight.The Bank of Japan’s own ‘bad bank’, the Resolution &amp; Collection Corporation (RCC), is effectively the largest shareholder in both Fidea Holdings and Tohoku Bank through convertible preferred stock.  Will their debts be forgiven as part of the integration, or will the due date for the public funds repayment simply be extended for a further decade or so?  Will the RCC force conversion of its preferred stock into ordinary shares because of the merger, becoming overtly by far the largest shareholder?  What will be the impact of such a decision on investor sentiment for existing shareholders?  These are all important (and, for the time being, unanswerable) questions for investors.Foreign institutional investors own 12% of Fidea Holdings, and 4% of Tohoku Bank.  We fail to understand the attraction, given all the underlying weaknesses, as we detail in this Insight.  We view Friday’s ‘bounce’ in the stock prices of both Fidea Holdings and Tohoku Bank, on an unusual surge in trading volume, as a narrow ‘opportunity window’ for frustrated shareholders to exit both stocks and stay away thereafter.  That surge is over.  To those who were tempted to pile in we say:   Caveat Emptor! (May the Buyer Beware!).

Fidea Holdings (9713 JP):  A School of Minnows

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

Stock markets around the world have been reaching record levels, thanks to the unprecedented amounts of money being pumped into the financial markets by the advanced nations’ central banks in a bid to offset the economic damage caused by COVID-19.  In Japan, too, the Topix Index finished 2020 at 1804.68, just off its high-point for the year and up a very modest 4.8% YoY after plummeting around 500 points in March.
For investors in Japanese bank stocks, however, it was another year of pain: the Topix Bank Index closed 2020 down 21.7% YoY.  Moreover, just 5 bank stocks out of the total of 92 showed positive gains YoY.  All 7 major Japanese banks showed YoY declines: the ‘best-performer’ was down 21.1% YoY, with the average major bank YoY decline exceeding 25%.  By the end of 2020, 13 Japanese bank stocks had lost over one-third of their value, although they had been considerably lower earlier in the year.
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2021 commences with bank lending at near record-high levels after a record surge in lending, a mountain of cash on deposit that the banks are struggling to deploy profitably, exceptionally low loan to deposit (LDR) ratios, margins under pressure, profits under pressure and, for many banks, dividends under pressure as well.  None of this is likely to boost investor confidence in Japanese bank stocks.
Business models need to be reinvented to properly incorporate the new digital era, branches amalgamated or closed, and staff reduced.  This will take time and be costly.
Meanwhile, two banks have already suggested that they will likely make consolidated net losses in FY3/3021, with others perhaps to follow as we approach the end of the fiscal year in March.
2021 will also see a handful of regional bank mergers; indeed, this has already started with the first on 1 January 2021, creating the Daishi Hokuetsu Bank (part of the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/daishi-hokuetsu-financial-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27533:1" rel="noopener">Daishi Hokuetsu Financial Group (7327 JP)</a> ).  While these will be welcomed by the Suga Administration, which is actively encouraging a reduction in the number of regional banks, especially in the more rural parts of the country, there is no guarantee that the surviving entities will be any more profitable or efficient than their predecessors.
Then there is the coronavirus pandemic, which continues to cause social lockdowns, economic disruption, and financial uncertainty aside from its devastating impact on the health and wellbeing of humankind.  All of this still needs to be properly discounted in Japanese bank share prices.  We anticipate further share price weakness in many Japanese banks in 2021.
“Caveat Emptor!” (May the Buyer Beware) remains our advice to would-be investors in Japanese bank stocks for 2021 and beyond.

Stock markets around the world have been reaching record levels, thanks to the unprecedented amounts of money being pumped into the financial markets by the advanced nations’ central banks in a bid to offset the economic damage caused by COVID-19.  In Japan, too, the Topix Index finished 2020 at 1804.68, just off its high-point for the year and up a very modest 4.8% YoY after plummeting around 500 points in March.
For investors in Japanese bank stocks, however, it was another year of pain: the Topix Bank Index closed 2020 down 21.7% YoY.  Moreover, just 5 bank stocks out of the total of 92 showed positive gains YoY.  All 7 major Japanese banks showed YoY declines: the ‘best-performer’ was down 21.1% YoY, with the average major bank YoY decline exceeding 25%.  By the end of 2020, 13 Japanese bank stocks had lost over one-third of their value, although they had been considerably lower earlier in the year.




2021 commences with bank lending at near record-high levels after a record surge in lending, a mountain of cash on deposit that the banks are struggling to deploy profitably, exceptionally low loan to deposit (LDR) ratios, margins under pressure, profits under pressure and, for many banks, dividends under pressure as well.  None of this is likely to boost investor confidence in Japanese bank stocks.
Business models need to be reinvented to properly incorporate the new digital era, branches amalgamated or closed, and staff reduced.  This will take time and be costly.
Meanwhile, two banks have already suggested that they will likely make consolidated net losses in FY3/3021, with others perhaps to follow as we approach the end of the fiscal year in March.
2021 will also see a handful of regional bank mergers; indeed, this has already started with the first on 1 January 2021, creating the Daishi Hokuetsu Bank (part of the Daishi Hokuetsu Financial Group (7327 JP) ).  While these will be welcomed by the Suga Administration, which is actively encouraging a reduction in the number of regional banks, especially in the more rural parts of the country, there is no guarantee that the surviving entities will be any more profitable or efficient than their predecessors.
Then there is the coronavirus pandemic, which continues to cause social lockdowns, economic disruption, and financial uncertainty aside from its devastating impact on the health and wellbeing of humankind.  All of this still needs to be properly discounted in Japanese bank share prices.  We anticipate further share price weakness in many Japanese banks in 2021.
“Caveat Emptor!” (May the Buyer Beware) remains our advice to would-be investors in Japanese bank stocks for 2021 and beyond.

Japan

Jimoto Holdings Inc is a holding company created by the merger of Kirayaka Bank and Sendai Bank. The company mainly operates banking and financial services in Yamagaya and Miyagi prefectures.

Jimoto Holdings (7161 JP)

TOPIX Index Upweights: Final Predictions for The "The Big April Basket” 2023

This insight (from Feb 2023) discusses the annual TOPIX Liquidity Factor (LF) removal event (which we call the "Big April Basket"). It might be a...

Janaghan Jeyakumar, CFA

TOPIX Big April Basket 23: 100% Hit Rate for High Conviction Basket; Focus on Surprises Next

There could be around US$450mn of flows and an average of 12 days of ADV to buy for the 13 names which I identify as "surprise" names. I expect...

Janaghan Jeyakumar, CFA

TOPIX Index Upweights: An Early Preview Of "The Big April Basket" 2023

Daiei Kankyo, Socionext, Sun* , Mercari, Loadstar Capital, Bewith, Medley, and Appier Group are our high-conviction names that could see their...

Janaghan Jeyakumar, CFA

Fidea Holdings (9713 JP): A School of Minnows

Fidea Holdings (8713 JP) has announced that Iwate-based Tohoku Bank (8349 JP) will become a wholly-owned subsidiary in October 2022, in an all...

J. Brian Waterhouse

Japanese Banks: Ever Lower

For investors in Japanese bank stocks, 2020 was another year of pain. The sector fell almost 22% YoY; only 5 bank stocks out of 92 registered YoY...

J. Brian Waterhouse