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

Brian Freitas

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One

Periscope Analytics

Periscope Analytics focuses on event-driven trades across Asia Pacific and provides comprehensive, timely and systematic coverage of index changes to major Asia Pacific indices in a structured manner.

The analysis includes forecasted inclusions and exclusions to all major Asian indices that have significant amount of tracking assets, including estimates of passive buy/sell flow on the stocks. The service also provides commentary and impact of market consultations, ground rule changes, and other events (IPOs, spin-offs, M&A) that could lead to index changes and passive flow.

Periscope Analytics works with multi-strategy hedge funds, proprietary trading firms, stat arb trading groups and long-only investors that invest and trade in the Asia Pacific region with the data being used to trade index rebalances, avoid pre-positioning and passive flow, and to time entry into and exit from stocks.

Event-Driven Trades Across Asia Pacific

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>Foreign investors have been selling <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sk-telecom-co-ltd-bbccd86c-474d-4a4d-946d-10e911a225a2" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:395:1" rel="noopener">SK Telecom (017670 KS)</a> for over a year now. That has taken foreign room from near zero to close to 15% now.</li>
<li>That could mean index inclusion for <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sk-telecom-co-ltd-bbccd86c-474d-4a4d-946d-10e911a225a2" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:395:1" rel="noopener">SK Telecom (017670 KS)</a> with timing dependent on when the 15% foreign room threshold is crossed.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sk-telecom-co-ltd-bbccd86c-474d-4a4d-946d-10e911a225a2" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:395:1" rel="noopener">SK Telecom (017670 KS)</a> has performed in line with <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kt-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1112:1" rel="noopener">KT Corp (030200 KS)</a> but trades at higher valuations on most parameters.</li>
</ul>


Foreign investors have been selling SK Telecom (017670 KS) for over a year now. That has taken foreign room from near zero to close to 15% now.
That could mean index inclusion for SK Telecom (017670 KS) with timing dependent on when the 15% foreign room threshold is crossed.

SK Telecom (017670 KS) has performed in line with KT Corp (030200 KS) but trades at higher valuations on most parameters.


SK Telecom (017670 KS): Foreign Room Increase Has Implications

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>The Korean government announced today that it will allow a fourth telco in Korea in order to reduce the oligopoly structure dominated by the three existing telcos.</li>
<li>This decision to allow another telco in Korea will have a major negative impact on the existing three telcos in Korea.</li>
<li>On a relative basis, we think that this could have a worse impact than LG Uplus as compared to SK Telecom due to greater price sensitivity of LG Uplus' customers.</li>
</ul>


The Korean government announced today that it will allow a fourth telco in Korea in order to reduce the oligopoly structure dominated by the three existing telcos.
This decision to allow another telco in Korea will have a major negative impact on the existing three telcos in Korea.
On a relative basis, we think that this could have a worse impact than LG Uplus as compared to SK Telecom due to greater price sensitivity of LG Uplus' customers.


The Rise of the Fourth Telco in Korea - Breaking the Oligopoly

<ul>
<li>The Starlink service is expected to be launched in Korea in 2Q/3Q 2023. Starlink gained more than 1 million active subscribers globally as of December 2022.</li>
<li>The launch of the Starlink service in Korea is likely to have a positive impact on  companies such as Hanwha Aerospace, Solu-M, Intellian Technologies, and Satrec Initiative.</li>
<li>We like a pair trade involving long (basket of 8 stocks above that are positively impacted by Starlink launch in Korea) and short (three major Korean telcos).</li>
</ul>


The Starlink service is expected to be launched in Korea in 2Q/3Q 2023. Starlink gained more than 1 million active subscribers globally as of December 2022.
The launch of the Starlink service in Korea is likely to have a positive impact on  companies such as Hanwha Aerospace, Solu-M, Intellian Technologies, and Satrec Initiative.
We like a pair trade involving long (basket of 8 stocks above that are positively impacted by Starlink launch in Korea) and short (three major Korean telcos).


Launch of Starlink Service by SpaceX - Impact on 11 Korean Companies

Korea / Special Situations, Clepsydra Capital

Sanghyun Park

Korea / Special Situations

Korea / Special Sits, Pairs, Index Rebalancing

Clepsydra Capital

Investigate special situations, pairs, and index rebalancing trades in Korea.

<ul>
<li>KT's foreign room has been rising since early September last year. If this trend continues, it will likely approach the inclusion borderline of 15% within a month or two.</li>
<li>This trend is expected to continue for the time being as the tough relationship between the KT CEO and the government seems unlikely to be resolved in the short term.</li>
<li>The February inclusion is pretty tight, but May seems like we could be looking out for it.</li>
</ul>


KT's foreign room has been rising since early September last year. If this trend continues, it will likely approach the inclusion borderline of 15% within a month or two.
This trend is expected to continue for the time being as the tough relationship between the KT CEO and the government seems unlikely to be resolved in the short term.
The February inclusion is pretty tight, but May seems like we could be looking out for it.


Foreign Ownership Limit Stocks in Korea: KT Is Again in the Limelight

<ul>
<li>At current prices, we like a pair trade between SK Telecom (go long) and LG Uplus (go short). </li>
<li>We believe the share price gap has widened too much in the past month in favor of LG Uplus and this gap is likely to close in the coming weeks.</li>
<li>While LG Uplus tries to expand its non-telecom businesses, this may involve greater spending on marketing and promotions (as % of sales), which could be a drag on its earnings.</li>
</ul>


At current prices, we like a pair trade between SK Telecom (go long) and LG Uplus (go short). 
We believe the share price gap has widened too much in the past month in favor of LG Uplus and this gap is likely to close in the coming weeks.
While LG Uplus tries to expand its non-telecom businesses, this may involve greater spending on marketing and promotions (as % of sales), which could be a drag on its earnings.


A Pair Trade Between SK Telecom & LG Uplus

South Korea

LG Uplus Corp., an affiliate of LG Group, provides a wide range of personal communications services (PCS) using code division multiple access (CDMA) technology.  The Company offers call forwarding, call and data transfer, call waiting, voice mail, Internet-phone, prepaid call, and authentication text-to-speech (TTS) services.

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LG Uplus Corp (032640 KS)

SK Telecom (017670 KS): Foreign Room Increase Has Implications

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A Pair Trade Between SK Telecom & LG Uplus

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