Japanese Equity Specialist, Ortus Advisors

Andrew Jackson

Japanese Equity Specialist

Ortus Advisors

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>Micron up AH as numbers beat handily, but not on what you maybe thought. TP's for Sandisk and Kioxia get doubled but expect more on the follow.</li>
<li>Defense will be in focus after loosing their shine to AI on Trump's Ukraine comments and big Boeing deals in the wings.</li>
<li>Quantum names continue higher and Socionext's 7.5% move Monday should have more to run.</li>
</ul>


Micron up AH as numbers beat handily, but not on what you maybe thought. TP's for Sandisk and Kioxia get doubled but expect more on the follow.
Defense will be in focus after loosing their shine to AI on Trump's Ukraine comments and big Boeing deals in the wings.
Quantum names continue higher and Socionext's 7.5% move Monday should have more to run.


Japan Morning Connection: The US Expands Its Tech Reach, Looking to Aquire 10% of Lithium Americas

Global Materials | Industrials | Commodities

Rahul Jain

<ul>
<li>Nvidia–OpenAI tie-up: A US$100bn LOI to deploy 10 GW of GPUs by 2026 highlights the unprecedented scale of AI compute build-out, anchored in Asia’s memory, packaging, substrate, and testing ecosystem.</li>
<li>SK hynix (HBM leader, backlog sold out to 2027), TSMC (CoWoS packaging), Ibiden/Ajinomoto (substrates), and Advantest/TEL/Disco (test/tools) are positioned as key winners.</li>
<li>While the deal confirms multi-year order visibility, much of the “good news” may be priced in — execution of capacity ramps and sustained demand will determine further upside.</li>
</ul>


Nvidia–OpenAI tie-up: A US$100bn LOI to deploy 10 GW of GPUs by 2026 highlights the unprecedented scale of AI compute build-out, anchored in Asia’s memory, packaging, substrate, and testing ecosystem.
SK hynix (HBM leader, backlog sold out to 2027), TSMC (CoWoS packaging), Ibiden/Ajinomoto (substrates), and Advantest/TEL/Disco (test/tools) are positioned as key winners.
While the deal confirms multi-year order visibility, much of the “good news” may be priced in — execution of capacity ramps and sustained demand will determine further upside.


Nvidia–OpenAI US$100bn Partnership: Asia Hardware Supply Chain Implications

<ul>
<li>Asia mirrors the U.S. “boring tech” rally: storage, memory, and components once seen as cyclical are being re-rated as AI infrastructure enablers.</li>
<li>Valuation gaps present opportunities: Kioxia and SK Hynix trade at meaningful discounts vs Seagate/WDC/Micron, while Murata and TSMC command premiums; Chinese names appear expensive.</li>
<li>Key risks remain: cyclicality in DRAM/NAND, potential subsidy overbuild, and currency volatility could pressure valuations if AI demand slows.</li>
</ul>


Asia mirrors the U.S. “boring tech” rally: storage, memory, and components once seen as cyclical are being re-rated as AI infrastructure enablers.
Valuation gaps present opportunities: Kioxia and SK Hynix trade at meaningful discounts vs Seagate/WDC/Micron, while Murata and TSMC command premiums; Chinese names appear expensive.
Key risks remain: cyclicality in DRAM/NAND, potential subsidy overbuild, and currency volatility could pressure valuations if AI demand slows.


Asia’s “Boring Tech” Rerating: Memory, Components & AI Infrastructure

<ul>
<li>NAND supplier Sandisk taking its gains to 100% MTD as eSSD memory demand for AI applications grows exponentially.</li>
<li>Apple breakout as weekend sales for the iPhone17 Pro likely to come ahead of estimates.</li>
<li>Quantum computing names taking a big leg higher with the Trump Administration aiming to expand their quantum strategy.</li>
</ul>


NAND supplier Sandisk taking its gains to 100% MTD as eSSD memory demand for AI applications grows exponentially.
Apple breakout as weekend sales for the iPhone17 Pro likely to come ahead of estimates.
Quantum computing names taking a big leg higher with the Trump Administration aiming to expand their quantum strategy.


Japan Morning Connection: Ibiden Boosting IC Substrate Production to Meet Surging Demand

<ul>
<li>Expect big gains for the likes of TEL, Lasertec, TOK with Intel emerging as the clear national champion.</li>
<li>Memory names continue to surge higher, so Kioxia's -7% drop off the highs yesterday likely to draw interest.</li>
<li>Not good news for ARM though, as a NVDA/INTC partnership will make it harder for their architectures to gain traction. Sell Softback.</li>
</ul>


Expect big gains for the likes of TEL, Lasertec, TOK with Intel emerging as the clear national champion.
Memory names continue to surge higher, so Kioxia's -7% drop off the highs yesterday likely to draw interest.
Not good news for ARM though, as a NVDA/INTC partnership will make it harder for their architectures to gain traction. Sell Softback.


Japan Morning Connection: Intel/NVDA Partnership Very Positive for Japanese SPE Suppliers

Japan

Kioxia Holdings Corporation manufactures semiconductor memory products. The Company develops, produces, and sells flash memory cards, solid state drives, secure digital memory cards, and other products. Kioxia Holdings also operates group management strategy formulation and management.

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Kioxia Holdings (285A JP)

Japan Morning Connection: The US Expands Its Tech Reach, Looking to Aquire 10% of Lithium Americas

Quantum names continue to do well which may send Socionext even higher. Micron's numbers after hours will add upside to Ibiden. Any pullback in...

Andrew Jackson

Nvidia–OpenAI US$100bn Partnership: Asia Hardware Supply Chain Implications

Nvidia's $100bn LOI with OpenAI for 10 GW of GPUs by 2026 highlights the massive AI compute build-out in Asia, benefiting key players like SK...

Rahul Jain

Asia’s “Boring Tech” Rerating: Memory, Components & AI Infrastructure

Asia's tech rally focuses on storage, memory, and components as AI infrastructure enablers, with valuation gaps offering opportunities but risks...

Rahul Jain

Japan Morning Connection: Ibiden Boosting IC Substrate Production to Meet Surging Demand

Big gains for Intel suppliers on Friday after news that NVDA would invest in INTC. Quantum computing related higher as Trump administration looks...

Andrew Jackson

Japan Morning Connection: Intel/NVDA Partnership Very Positive for Japanese SPE Suppliers

NVDA taking a stake in Intel to allow codevelopment of chips sent INTC rocketing higher, a positive for Shin Etsu as Intel's largest wafer...

Andrew Jackson

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Market Cap (USDm)

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Japan Morning Connection: The US Expands Its Tech Reach, Looking to Aquire 10% of Lithium Americas

Quantum names continue to do well which may send Socionext even higher. Micron's numbers after hours will add upside to Ibiden. Any pullback in...

Andrew Jackson

Nvidia–OpenAI US$100bn Partnership: Asia Hardware Supply Chain Implications

​Nvidia's $100bn LOI with OpenAI for 10 GW of GPUs by 2026 highlights the massive AI compute build-out in Asia, benefiting key players like SK...

Rahul Jain

Asia’s “Boring Tech” Rerating: Memory, Components & AI Infrastructure

​Asia's tech rally focuses on storage, memory, and components as AI infrastructure enablers, with valuation gaps offering opportunities but risks...

Rahul Jain

Japan Morning Connection: Ibiden Boosting IC Substrate Production to Meet Surging Demand

Big gains for Intel suppliers on Friday after news that NVDA would invest in INTC. Quantum computing related higher as Trump administration looks...

Andrew Jackson

Japan Morning Connection: Intel/NVDA Partnership Very Positive for Japanese SPE Suppliers

NVDA taking a stake in Intel to allow codevelopment of chips sent INTC rocketing higher, a positive for Shin Etsu as Intel's largest wafer...

Andrew Jackson

Nvidia's $100bn LOI with OpenAI for 10 GW of GPUs by 2026 highlights the massive AI compute build-out in Asia, benefiting key players like SK...

Asia's tech rally focuses on storage, memory, and components as AI infrastructure enablers, with valuation gaps offering opportunities but risks...