Semiconductors, Memory and SSDs Specialist, Objective Analysis

Jim Handy

Semiconductors, Memory and SSDs Specialist

Objective Analysis

Objective Analysis offers third-party independent market research and data for the semiconductor industry and investors in the semiconductor industry.

Semiconductors, Memory and SSDs

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

The Semiconductor Industry Association in the US released the latest WSTS figures for January chip revenues.  Monthly revenues are down 15.6% from January of 2018.  While this is not a surprise to our clients it is frightening to those who anticipated that 2019 would be a continuation of the bonanza enjoyed in 2018.

The Semiconductor Industry Association in the US released the latest WSTS figures for January chip revenues.  Monthly revenues are down 15.6% from January of 2018.  While this is not a surprise to our clients it is frightening to those who anticipated that 2019 would be a continuation of the bonanza enjoyed in 2018.

January Chip Revenues Down 15.6% Year-On-Year

Japan/Asia Long-Short, LightStream Research

Mio Kato

Japan/Asia Long-Short

Long-Short Analysis on Japan, Asia and the World

LightStream Research

LightStream conducts quantitatively rigorous and data-driven analysis with a focus on Japan and Asia.

We consistently cover the Tech, Consumer and Industrial sectors, and provide ECM and Events coverage more broadly.

We supplement traditional qualitative insights from company relationships with a robust quantitative foundation that examines as much historical data as is available.
We further refine the accuracy of our insights and calls through the use of alternative data to flesh out current trends, and through a valuation framework that emphasises non-superficial peer group selection and a proper attempt to understand the metrics and changes that have driven security valuations in the past.

Equity Capital Markets

Coverage of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/27445" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27445:1">Softbank Corp (9434 JP)</a>'s IPO on Smartkarma has offered a mix of viewpoints with some bullish and some bearish opinions. Our own take has been relatively subdued, leaning to the bearish side but only significantly so in the event that Docomo follows through with its announced price cuts and Rakuten's entry as a full-fledged MNO is particularly aggressive.By and large we consider the issue to be overvalued but felt that significant downside risk only existed if the dividend were to be cut, which we consider a distinct possibility but by no means a sure thing. This long -term view has not changed, however, we now consider some modest downside to be likely in the short term.

Coverage of Softbank Corp (9434 JP)'s IPO on Smartkarma has offered a mix of viewpoints with some bullish and some bearish opinions. Our own take has been relatively subdued, leaning to the bearish side but only significantly so in the event that Docomo follows through with its announced price cuts and Rakuten's entry as a full-fledged MNO is particularly aggressive.By and large we consider the issue to be overvalued but felt that significant downside risk only existed if the dividend were to be cut, which we consider a distinct possibility but by no means a sure thing. This long -term view has not changed, however, we now consider some modest downside to be likely in the short term.

Softbank IPO: Signs Point to Risk of Early IPO Price Break

IPOs and Catalysts/Events, Global Equity Research Ltd

Arun George

IPOs and Catalysts/Events

Uncompromised, Independent, Conflict-Free Research

Global Equity Research Ltd

Global Equity Research was started in 2017 by a group of experienced research professionals. It was founded on a passionate belief in the importance and the need for uncompromised, independent, conflict-free research. We aim to provide differentiated and actionable primary and bottom up fundamental research.

Asiainfo Technologies / Equity Capital Markets

<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/27475" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27475:1">Asiainfo Technologies (1119892D CH)</a> is a leading Chinese telecom software and services provider with a 25% market share as measured by revenue in 2017. It announced its IPO price range of HK$10.50-13.50 per share. At the mid-point of the IPO price range, AsiaInfo will raise proceeds of $132 million, resulting in a fully diluted market cap of $1.1 billion. Cornerstone investors which include <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/179" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:179:1">Baidu Inc (ADR) (BIDU US)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/13359" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13359:1">Lenovo (992 HK)</a> have together agreed to purchase $60 million worth of shares in the offering.<div class="content-highlight">We had previously expressed our concerns about AsiaInfo's fundamentals. Overall, we believe that the proposed IPO price range in unattractive and would not participate in the deal.</div>

Asiainfo Technologies (1119892D CH) is a leading Chinese telecom software and services provider with a 25% market share as measured by revenue in 2017. It announced its IPO price range of HK$10.50-13.50 per share. At the mid-point of the IPO price range, AsiaInfo will raise proceeds of $132 million, resulting in a fully diluted market cap of $1.1 billion. Cornerstone investors which include Baidu Inc (ADR) (BIDU US) and Lenovo (992 HK) have together agreed to purchase $60 million worth of shares in the offering.We had previously expressed our concerns about AsiaInfo's fundamentals. Overall, we believe that the proposed IPO price range in unattractive and would not participate in the deal.

AsiaInfo IPO Valuation: Not Enough of a Discount

'Quantamental' Japan Specialist, LightStream Research

Campbell Gunn

'Quantamental' Japan Specialist

ja research

ja research is an independent research platform focused exclusively on Japanese equities. Leveraging data and graphic analysis provided by Japan Analytics, we provide insights on small and medium-sized companies that have been ignored by the sell-side as well as challenging conventional wisdom on larger companies. We also offer analyst and corporate access, the latter with translation if required. 

Quantitative Analysis

<div class="content-caption">
<figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/068/507/original/2018-11-02_10-20-29.png?1541121653" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="68507"></figure>Source: Japan Analytics
NB: companies are colour-coded by sector
</div>28 YEARS OF NON-FINANCIAL MARKET LEADERSHIP - To offer some light relief from the current market, we have compiled a graphic illustrating the evolution in the ranking of the leading non-financial Japanese companies by market capitalisation measured at the end of each of the last 28 years.METHODOLOGY - Our comments follow in the detail below, but first a few notes:-<ul>
<li>In the interests of clarity (/sanity?), financials have been omitted. Twelve of the Top 20-ranked companies in 1990 were financials. However, only <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/742" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:742:1">Nomura (8604 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/6483" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6483:1">Aozora (8304 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/16897" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:16897:1">Shinsei (8303 JP)</a> have survived in their original corporate structure and have the same ticker code. Our chart would have otherwise have included the now-merged IBJ, Fuji Bank, Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, Mitsubishi Bank, Sakura Bank, Sumitomo Bank, Tokai Bank, Sanwa Bank and Mitsubishi Trust Bank.  Excluded from the present-day Top 20 are <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/218" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:218:1">Mitsubishi UFJ (8306 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/217" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:217:1">Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (8316 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/838" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:838:1">Japan Post Bank (7182 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/359" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:359:1">Japan Post Holdings (6178 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/219" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:219:1">Mizuho Financial (8411 JP)</a> from the present day.</li>
<li>Only companies that were in the Top 20 in 1990 or 2018, as well as those companies that have been in the Top 10 for at least three of the last 28 years, have been included. </li>
<li>Two companies from 1990's Top 20 - Seibu Railway and Japan Airlines - have since been delisted. Although they have relisted as <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/458" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:458:1">Seibu Holdings (9024 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/1184" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1184:1">Japan Airlines (9201 JP)</a>, they are no longer highly-ranked.</li>
<li>Seven current Top 20 companies - (<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/315" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:315:1">Softbank (9984 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/1089" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1089:1">NTT Docomo (9437 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/639" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:639:1">KDDI (9433 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/13498" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13498:1">Japan Tobacco (2914 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/13520" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13520:1">Central Japan Railway (9022 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/751" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:751:1">Fast Retailing (9983 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/15070" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:15070:1">Recruit (6098 JP)</a>)  - have listed during the last 28 years. </li>
</ul>THE 2050 RANKING?- Which of the current market leaders will still be in the Top 20 in 2050 in their current guise? For those still around to read this in 32 year's time, we would wager on just three - <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/3077" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:3077:1">Keyence (6861 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/73" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:73:1">Toyota Motor (7203 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/563" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:563:1">Sony (6758 JP)</a>.


Source: Japan Analytics
NB: companies are colour-coded by sector
28 YEARS OF NON-FINANCIAL MARKET LEADERSHIP - To offer some light relief from the current market, we have compiled a graphic illustrating the evolution in the ranking of the leading non-financial Japanese companies by market capitalisation measured at the end of each of the last 28 years.METHODOLOGY - Our comments follow in the detail below, but first a few notes:-
In the interests of clarity (/sanity?), financials have been omitted. Twelve of the Top 20-ranked companies in 1990 were financials. However, only Nomura (8604 JP), Aozora (8304 JP) and Shinsei (8303 JP) have survived in their original corporate structure and have the same ticker code. Our chart would have otherwise have included the now-merged IBJ, Fuji Bank, Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, Mitsubishi Bank, Sakura Bank, Sumitomo Bank, Tokai Bank, Sanwa Bank and Mitsubishi Trust Bank.  Excluded from the present-day Top 20 are Mitsubishi UFJ (8306 JP), Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (8316 JP), Japan Post Bank (7182 JP), Japan Post Holdings (6178 JP) and Mizuho Financial (8411 JP) from the present day.
Only companies that were in the Top 20 in 1990 or 2018, as well as those companies that have been in the Top 10 for at least three of the last 28 years, have been included. 
Two companies from 1990's Top 20 - Seibu Railway and Japan Airlines - have since been delisted. Although they have relisted as Seibu Holdings (9024 JP) and Japan Airlines (9201 JP), they are no longer highly-ranked.
Seven current Top 20 companies - (Softbank (9984 JP), NTT Docomo (9437 JP), KDDI (9433 JP), Japan Tobacco (2914 JP), Central Japan Railway (9022 JP), Fast Retailing (9983 JP) and Recruit (6098 JP))  - have listed during the last 28 years. 
THE 2050 RANKING?- Which of the current market leaders will still be in the Top 20 in 2050 in their current guise? For those still around to read this in 32 year's time, we would wager on just three - Keyence (6861 JP), Toyota Motor (7203 JP) and Sony (6758 JP). 

Japan: The Evolution Of (Non-Financial) Market Leadership

Specialist in Japanese equities, Kheiron Group

Nathan Ramler, CFA

Specialist in Japanese equities

Kheiron Group

Tokyo-based with experience in global equity markets and M&A. Striving to add value and insight. 

Specialists in Japan

5G sounds great, right? – faster speeds, more capacity, improved efficiency – but what does that really mean? The reality is that 5G isn’t needed for consumer services. In Japan, 4G and its improvements can be more than sufficient to deliver network speeds and capacity that give consumers a good experience. That doesn’t mean that 5G won’t improve consumers’ service experience, but we expect the main use cases for 5G to be industrial, not consumer. We do anticipate 5G in Japan will open up opportunities for new services and revenue streams.Japanese telco capex has been trending lower. <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/623" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:623:1">NTT (9432 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/1089" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1089:1">NTT Docomo (9437 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/639" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:639:1">KDDI (9433 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/315" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:315:1">Softbank (9984 JP)</a>, and even <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/31" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:31:1">Rakuten (4755 JP)</a> are all investing in 5G, but telco cash flows are not waiting to be crushed by 5G spending because 5G can piggyback on existing infrastructure. The technology comes as a more gradual shift and is complementary to 4G technologies, so we do not expect 5G to result in material changes or pressures on absolute capex spending. Yes, there are some new technological elements needed in the networks and previous generational shifts of technology have not always been smooth, but we see no call to panic about 5G.In this insight we look at:<ol>
<li>The timeline for 5G and an explanation of what 5G is</li>
<li>Use cases for the technology and competitive threats to the network operators</li>
<li>A deep dive into the technology itself – if you want to know your MIMO from your NOMA, come join us as we let our inner geek run rampant</li>
</ol>

5G sounds great, right? – faster speeds, more capacity, improved efficiency – but what does that really mean? The reality is that 5G isn’t needed for consumer services. In Japan, 4G and its improvements can be more than sufficient to deliver network speeds and capacity that give consumers a good experience. That doesn’t mean that 5G won’t improve consumers’ service experience, but we expect the main use cases for 5G to be industrial, not consumer. We do anticipate 5G in Japan will open up opportunities for new services and revenue streams.Japanese telco capex has been trending lower. NTT (9432 JP), NTT Docomo (9437 JP), KDDI (9433 JP), Softbank (9984 JP), and even Rakuten (4755 JP) are all investing in 5G, but telco cash flows are not waiting to be crushed by 5G spending because 5G can piggyback on existing infrastructure. The technology comes as a more gradual shift and is complementary to 4G technologies, so we do not expect 5G to result in material changes or pressures on absolute capex spending. Yes, there are some new technological elements needed in the networks and previous generational shifts of technology have not always been smooth, but we see no call to panic about 5G.In this insight we look at:
The timeline for 5G and an explanation of what 5G is
Use cases for the technology and competitive threats to the network operators
A deep dive into the technology itself – if you want to know your MIMO from your NOMA, come join us as we let our inner geek run rampant


5G Is Coming – Don’t Panic. Sensible Plans from SoftBank (9984 JP), Docomo (9437 JP), KDDI (9433 JP)

Japan

NEC Corporation manufactures and markets computers, telecommunication equipment, electronic devices, semiconductors, and software.  The Company's products include printers, modems, cellular phones, plasma display panels (PDP), network systems, memory, integrated circuits (IC), thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD), and printed circuit boards (PCB). NEC operates worldwide.

Price Gauge
52-week Range	0.00 - 0.00
Market Cap (USDm)	0.00
P/E	0.00
Dividend (Yield)	0.00

NEC Corp (6701 JP)

January Chip Revenues Down 15.6% Year-On-Year

The Semiconductor Industry Association in the US released the latest WSTS figures for January chip revenues. Monthly revenues are down 15.6% from...

Jim Handy

Softbank IPO: Signs Point to Risk of Early IPO Price Break

Coverage of Softbank Corp (9434 JP)'s IPO on Smartkarma has offered a mix of viewpoints with some bullish and some bearish opinions. Our own take...

Mio Kato

AsiaInfo IPO Valuation: Not Enough of a Discount

Asiainfo Technologies (1119892D CH) is a leading Chinese telecom software and services provider with a 25% market share as measured by revenue in...

Arun George

Japan: The Evolution Of (Non-Financial) Market Leadership

28 YEARS OF NON-FINANCIAL MARKET LEADERSHIP - To offer some light relief from the current market, we have compiled a graphic illustrating the...

Campbell Gunn

5G Is Coming – Don’t Panic. Sensible Plans from SoftBank (9984 JP), Docomo (9437 JP), KDDI (9433 JP)

5G sounds great, right? – faster speeds, more capacity, improved efficiency – but what does that really mean? The reality is that 5G isn’t needed...

Nathan Ramler, CFA

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)