Head of Research, IPOs & Placements, Aequitas Research

Sumeet Singh

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements

IPOs and Placements coverage across Asia Pacific

Aequitas Research

We cover all listing across the Asia Pacific along with follow-up placements. As of Dec 2020, our team had covered 539 IPOs with a hit rate of 73.5% and 685 placements with a hit rate of 66.8%.

We combine fundamental bottom-up views with our proprietary quantitative framework to provide a holistic coverage across new listings and placements. Our coverage includes pre-IPO notes before the deal is launched, follow-up analysis once the deal is live and post-listing trading analysis as well.

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/paypay-corporation" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:35269:1" rel="noopener">PayPay (PAYP US)</a> (PP), a payments and financial services platform, raised around US$880m in its US IPO in March 2026, the lockup on its shareholders is set to expire soon.</li>
<li>PP operates a digital finance platform that serves as a payment solution for users and merchants, along with offering additional services.</li>
<li>In this note, we will talk about the lockup dynamics and possible placement.</li>
</ul>



PayPay (PAYP US) (PP), a payments and financial services platform, raised around US$880m in its US IPO in March 2026, the lockup on its shareholders is set to expire soon.
PP operates a digital finance platform that serves as a payment solution for users and merchants, along with offering additional services.
In this note, we will talk about the lockup dynamics and possible placement.


Aequitas: PayPay Lockup Expiry - US$10.5bn Lockup Release

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

Douglas Research Advisory

<ul>
<li>This insight is a book review of 주주 권리가 없는 나라 (A Country Without Shareholder Rights), which is one of the best books on the corporate governance in Korea.</li>
<li>There are so much wisdom that are included in this book. The author really goes into details about numerous corporate governance problems in Korea and ways to fix them.</li>
<li>This book was published in January 2024 and it was written by a famous Korean retail investor called Park Young-Ok.</li>
</ul>


This insight is a book review of 주주 권리가 없는 나라 (A Country Without Shareholder Rights), which is one of the best books on the corporate governance in Korea.
There are so much wisdom that are included in this book. The author really goes into details about numerous corporate governance problems in Korea and ways to fix them.
This book was published in January 2024 and it was written by a famous Korean retail investor called Park Young-Ok.


A Country Without Shareholder Rights (주주 권리가 없는 나라) - A Book Review

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/k-bank-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:36073:1" rel="noopener">K Bank (279570 KS)</a> raised around US$340m in its South Korean IPO in March 2026. The lockup on its pre-IPO investors is set to expire soon.</li>
<li>K Bank is one of three Internet-only banks in Korea. It provides a full range of commercial banking products and services.</li>
<li>In this note, we will talk about the lockup dynamics and possible placement.</li>
</ul>



K Bank (279570 KS) raised around US$340m in its South Korean IPO in March 2026. The lockup on its pre-IPO investors is set to expire soon.
K Bank is one of three Internet-only banks in Korea. It provides a full range of commercial banking products and services.
In this note, we will talk about the lockup dynamics and possible placement.


Aequitas Kbank Lockup Expiry - Most Investors Will Be Out of Lockup, as 23% of Stock Is Released

<ul>
<li>On 21 August, Kakao Corp announced that its BOD approved an equity spin off involving "Kakao AI" and "Kakao X." </li>
<li>Going through the details regarding this plan, I believe this is NOT what the shareholders want. I am Negative on this equity spin-off plan</li>
<li>I am mainly Negative on this spin-off since I do not have enough confidence of Kakao AI newco's ability to significantly increase its sales and profits expected by the company. </li>
</ul>


On 21 August, Kakao Corp announced that its BOD approved an equity spin off involving "Kakao AI" and "Kakao X." 
Going through the details regarding this plan, I believe this is NOT what the shareholders want. I am Negative on this equity spin-off plan
I am mainly Negative on this spin-off since I do not have enough confidence of Kakao AI newco's ability to significantly increase its sales and profits expected by the company. 


Kakao Corp: Equity Spin-Off Plan [This Is Not What The Shareholders Want]

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.

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>In 1H23 and in the early part of 3Q23, our longs – Visa, Wise and PagSeguro – delivered positive returns; our shorts, DLocal and Kakao Pay, were also modestly successful</li>
<li>Ahead of results to June 2023, we retain card network megacap Visa as a core holding, as well as PagSeguro; we add PayPal and drop Wise from the buy list</li>
<li>We keep our negative view on DLocal and add Affirm, given high take-rates and  premium valuations; we stick with our negative on Kakao Pay due to its lofty multiples</li>
</ul>


In 1H23 and in the early part of 3Q23, our longs – Visa, Wise and PagSeguro – delivered positive returns; our shorts, DLocal and Kakao Pay, were also modestly successful
Ahead of results to June 2023, we retain card network megacap Visa as a core holding, as well as PagSeguro; we add PayPal and drop Wise from the buy list
We keep our negative view on DLocal and add Affirm, given high take-rates and  premium valuations; we stick with our negative on Kakao Pay due to its lofty multiples


Payment Companies – 1H 2023 in Review, Our High Conviction Calls for 2H 2023

South Korea

Kakao Pay Corp. operates financial businesses. The Company provides online payment, currency encryption, and other services. Kakao Pay conducts businesses in South Korea.

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Kakaopay (377300 KS)

Aequitas: PayPay Lockup Expiry - US$10.5bn Lockup Release

PayPay (PAYP US) (PP), a payments and financial services platform, raised around US$880m in its US IPO in March 2026, the lockup on its...

Sumeet Singh

A Country Without Shareholder Rights (주주 권리가 없는 나라) - A Book Review

This insight is a book review of 주주 권리가 없는 나라 (A Country Without Shareholder Rights), which is one of the best books on the corporate governance in...

Douglas Kim

Aequitas Kbank Lockup Expiry - Most Investors Will Be Out of Lockup, as 23% of Stock Is Released

K Bank (279570 KS) raised around US$340m in its South Korean IPO in March 2026. The lockup on its pre-IPO investors is set to expire soon.

Sumeet Singh

Kakao Corp: Equity Spin-Off Plan [This Is Not What The Shareholders Want]

Kakao Corp;s BOD approved an equity spin off involving "Kakao AI" (a new entity focused on KakaoTalk and AI) and "Kakao X" (the surviving entity...

Douglas Kim

Payment Companies – 1H 2023 in Review, Our High Conviction Calls for 2H 2023

Our 2H 2023 payments company longs are card network megacap Visa, value play PagSeguro and PayPal with our short calls being DLocal, Kakao Pay and...

Victor Galliano

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