Insurance & Central Asia-focused Analyst, KT Capital Group

Alec Tseung

Insurance & Central Asia-focused Analyst

KT Capital Group

Principal investments and advisory firm that focuses on connecting the CIS countries with East Asia.

Principal investments and advisory firm

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>Pru is currently trading below its embedded value, with the valuation assigning a negative value for the group’s new business profits.</li>
<li>Given its quality franchise across all key markets in Asia and continued strong new business recovery (to pre-Covid levels), this doesn’t seem to make sense at all.</li>
<li>We would continue underwriting the investment case of Pru in the coming year, with the stock offering significant upside potential. </li>
</ul>


Pru is currently trading below its embedded value, with the valuation assigning a negative value for the group’s new business profits.
Given its quality franchise across all key markets in Asia and continued strong new business recovery (to pre-Covid levels), this doesn’t seem to make sense at all.
We would continue underwriting the investment case of Pru in the coming year, with the stock offering significant upside potential. 


2024 High Conviction: Underwriting Prudential’s Investment Case into 2024

Asian Hedge Fund Manager, Long Short Equity, Macro

David Mudd

Cross Asset Strategy

<ul>
<li>Hong Kong market continues to consolidate during the early stage of its Secular Bull Market.  Strength and momentum indicators show further weakness ahead.</li>
<li>Materials and healthcare sectors have lost momentum with other sectors trendless.  Analysts target 20% price gains in materials sector over the next year.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-taiping-insurance-hldgs-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:489:1" rel="noopener">China Taiping Insurance Hldgs (966 HK)</a>  shares fell on Thursday on concerns over the insurer’s estimated HK$2.6B exposure to a HK residential project at the center of a deadly fire.
</li>
</ul>


Hong Kong market continues to consolidate during the early stage of its Secular Bull Market.  Strength and momentum indicators show further weakness ahead.
Materials and healthcare sectors have lost momentum with other sectors trendless.  Analysts target 20% price gains in materials sector over the next year.

China Taiping Insurance Hldgs (966 HK)  shares fell on Thursday on concerns over the insurer’s estimated HK$2.6B exposure to a HK residential project at the center of a deadly fire.



The Heat Is On: News Flow and Sentiment in CHINA / HONG KONG (November 27)

Research and consultancy, Tabbush Report

Daniel Tabbush

Research and consultancy

Tabbush Report

We provide research and consultancy on Asian banks. Our focus is on what we call “Asian bank research, without the noise.” We are interested in the most critical swing-factors for banks, the NPL and credit cycle, and where we believe there is a gap between perception and reality. We often focus on the less studied components of bank financial statements.  Our research is highly thematic, sometimes examining unlisted banks and companies as a window on mainstream banks. 

Being independent allows us to look at smaller banks, often overlooked by others. Analysis of BIS bank guidelines in the context of Asia, is also a focal point, while we also analyze global banks operating in the region. We use what we believe is the most comprehensive, reliable financials database, SNL Financial. S&P Capital IQ augments our database, with corporate data and CEIC, with economics. 

Asian bank research, without the noise.

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>China insurance sector may seem like there is strong growth prospects due the population, but relatively long term data on insurance premium growth is not robust in recent years.</li>
<li>Aggregate impairment losses on assets of insurance companies have been soaring in recent years, well higher than in the GFC, which can continue with weak CRE, investments.</li>
<li>Ping An Insurance has seen sharp fall in operating income in the past 2 quarters, with levels near quarterly lows in the past five years. Lower rates may hurt further. </li>
</ul>


China insurance sector may seem like there is strong growth prospects due the population, but relatively long term data on insurance premium growth is not robust in recent years.
Aggregate impairment losses on assets of insurance companies have been soaring in recent years, well higher than in the GFC, which can continue with weak CRE, investments.
Ping An Insurance has seen sharp fall in operating income in the past 2 quarters, with levels near quarterly lows in the past five years. Lower rates may hurt further. 


Ping An Insurance - Recent Profit Growth Is Weak, Industry Aggregates Do Not Suggest a Change

<ul>
<li>The earnings decline at <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ping-an-insurance-group-co-of-c2975d60-47cd-4246-a7a6-25297586242b" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24682:1" rel="noopener">Ping An Insurance Group of (601318 CH)</a> is well in place for the past three years and including the last 12 months and YTD. </li>
<li>A worsening China should see accelerated weakness at Ping An Insurance: bond mark downs, less product sales, lower bank contribution, falling investment returns as rates are cut.</li>
<li>Earnings risk perspective: profit RMB79bn in LTM against bond holdings of RMB2,622bn putting its bonds/profit at 33x. Bonds to capital is 2.9x: book value risk too.</li>
</ul>


The earnings decline at Ping An Insurance Group of (601318 CH) is well in place for the past three years and including the last 12 months and YTD. 
A worsening China should see accelerated weakness at Ping An Insurance: bond mark downs, less product sales, lower bank contribution, falling investment returns as rates are cut.
Earnings risk perspective: profit RMB79bn in LTM against bond holdings of RMB2,622bn putting its bonds/profit at 33x. Bonds to capital is 2.9x: book value risk too.


Ping An Insurance - Worsening Profit for Some Years, Can Accelerate with Corporate Bond Impairments

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/seoul-guarantee-insurance-co" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:40123:1" rel="noopener">Seoul Guarantee Insurance (031210 KS)</a> raised around US$125m in its Korean IPO. The lockup on KDIC is set to expire soon.</li>
<li>Seoul Guarantee Insurance (SGI) is a guarantee insurance firm operating predominantly in Korea.</li>
<li>In this note, we will talk about the lockup dynamics and possible placement.</li>
</ul>



Seoul Guarantee Insurance (031210 KS) raised around US$125m in its Korean IPO. The lockup on KDIC is set to expire soon.
Seoul Guarantee Insurance (SGI) is a guarantee insurance firm operating predominantly in Korea.
In this note, we will talk about the lockup dynamics and possible placement.


Aequitas: Seoul Guarantee IPO Lockup- KDIC Set to Sell over a Third of the Company for Around US$1bn

Hong Kong

Prudential is a multinational insurance and asset management company. It provides life and health insurance, long-term savings, and investment solutions, including mutual funds and annuities, to customers across Asia and Africa. The company was founded in London in 1848 and is headquartered in London and Hong Kong.

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Prudential (2378 HK)

2024 High Conviction: Underwriting Prudential’s Investment Case into 2024

Prudential plc's share prices have gone up by c. 40% in London and 50% in Hong Kong YTD. The thesis we highlighted in this note remains largely...

Alec Tseung

The Heat Is On: News Flow and Sentiment in CHINA / HONG KONG (November 27)

Hong Kong market continues to consolidate during the early stage of its Secular Bull Market. Strength and momentum indicators show further...

David Mudd

Ping An Insurance - Recent Profit Growth Is Weak, Industry Aggregates Do Not Suggest a Change

Ping An Insurance demonstrates weakening profit, China insurance industry aggregates, do not suggest this will change. Rather, investment returns...

Daniel Tabbush

Ping An Insurance - Worsening Profit for Some Years, Can Accelerate with Corporate Bond Impairments

Ping An Insurance can see meaningful risk to profit and book value from mark downs in its corporate bonds with a weak China economy.

Daniel Tabbush

Aequitas: Seoul Guarantee IPO Lockup- KDIC Set to Sell over a Third of the Company for Around US$1bn

As per news reports, KDIC is in the market selling 3m shares of Seoul Guarantee at a fixed price of KRW53,671 per share, which will form only a...

Sumeet Singh

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