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.

Equity Capital Markets

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/fwd-group-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:34332:1" rel="noopener">FWD Group Holdings (1828 HK)</a>, a pan-Asian life insurer founded by Richard Li, raised around US$442m in its HK IPO.</li>
<li>FWD is a pan-Asia life insurer operating in ten markets including Hong Kong (and Macau), Thailand (and Cambodia), Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia.</li>
<li>We looked at the company’s past performance and valuations in our previous notes. In this note we talk about the trading dynamics.</li>
</ul>



FWD Group Holdings (1828 HK), a pan-Asian life insurer founded by Richard Li, raised around US$442m in its HK IPO.
FWD is a pan-Asia life insurer operating in ten markets including Hong Kong (and Macau), Thailand (and Cambodia), Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia.
We looked at the company’s past performance and valuations in our previous notes. In this note we talk about the trading dynamics.


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

<ul>
<li>Based on HKD 38 offer price per share, FWD has a market capitalization of USD 6.1 billion, assuming the overallotment option is not exercised.</li>
<li>FWD's P/FY'24 pro forma BV represents a significant discount to peers' trading P/FY'24 BV since it has higher-than-peers intangible assets.</li>
<li>P/EV might be a fairer approach as it excludes intangible assets. On this basis, FWD valuation almost has no discount.</li>
</ul>


Based on HKD 38 offer price per share, FWD has a market capitalization of USD 6.1 billion, assuming the overallotment option is not exercised.
FWD's P/FY'24 pro forma BV represents a significant discount to peers' trading P/FY'24 BV since it has higher-than-peers intangible assets.
P/EV might be a fairer approach as it excludes intangible assets. On this basis, FWD valuation almost has no discount.


FWD IPO Valuation: Intangible Assets Is the Key (Vs. Peers)

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/fwd-group-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:34332:1" rel="noopener">FWD Group</a>, a pan-Asian life insurer founded by Richard Li, aims to raise around US$442m in its HK IPO.</li>
<li>FWD is a pan-Asia life insurer operating in ten markets including Hong Kong (and Macau), Thailand (and Cambodia), Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia.</li>
<li>We looked at the company’s past performance in our previous notes. In this note we talk about the IPO pricing.</li>
</ul>



FWD Group, a pan-Asian life insurer founded by Richard Li, aims to raise around US$442m in its HK IPO.
FWD is a pan-Asia life insurer operating in ten markets including Hong Kong (and Macau), Thailand (and Cambodia), Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia.
We looked at the company’s past performance in our previous notes. In this note we talk about the IPO pricing.


FWD IPO - Valuation Down but Its Difficult to Get Excited About It

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>Share prices of China Life and Prudential plc have been up by 33% and 40% - 50% YTD, respectively.</li>
<li>China Life's agency restructuring is bearing fruit, as evidenced by increasing agency productivity, and is expected to continue driving new business growth and margin expansion.</li>
<li>Our previous thesis for Prudential plc remains largely intact. Albeit the strong share price performance YTD, valuation upside remains as its new business multiple continues to re-rate.</li>
</ul>


Share prices of China Life and Prudential plc have been up by 33% and 40% - 50% YTD, respectively.
China Life's agency restructuring is bearing fruit, as evidenced by increasing agency productivity, and is expected to continue driving new business growth and margin expansion.
Our previous thesis for Prudential plc remains largely intact. Albeit the strong share price performance YTD, valuation upside remains as its new business multiple continues to re-rate.


Two Asian Life Insurance Stocks (Both Up >30% YTD) Worth Closer Looks

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.

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/fwd-group-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:34332:1" rel="noopener">FWD Group Holdings (FWD HK)</a> is a pan-Asia insurer that has filed its PHIP to raise around US$500 million. </li>
<li>FWD initially aimed for an NYSE IPO in 2021 to raise US$2-3 billion at a US$13-15 billion valuation. An HKEx listing in 2022 was shelved due to market conditions. </li>
<li>This note outlines the investment case. My analysis suggests that the fundamentals are mixed as FWD is rapidly growing its new business, but at the expense of its margin. </li>
</ul>



FWD Group Holdings (FWD HK) is a pan-Asia insurer that has filed its PHIP to raise around US$500 million. 
FWD initially aimed for an NYSE IPO in 2021 to raise US$2-3 billion at a US$13-15 billion valuation. An HKEx listing in 2022 was shelved due to market conditions. 
This note outlines the investment case. My analysis suggests that the fundamentals are mixed as FWD is rapidly growing its new business, but at the expense of its margin. 


Hong Kong

Prudential is a British multinational insurance and asset management company focused on providing life and health insurance and long-term savings products. It primarily serves customers in Asia and Africa, with its asset management business, Eastspring Investments, operating across Asia. The company was founded in London in May 1848 and is headquartered in London, England and Hong Kong.

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Prudential (PRU LN)

FWD IPO Trading - Tepid Demand

FWD Group Holdings (1828 HK), a pan-Asian life insurer founded by Richard Li, raised around US$442m in its HK IPO. In this note, we talk about the...

Sumeet Singh

FWD IPO Valuation: Intangible Assets Is the Key (Vs. Peers)

FWD has higher-than-peers intangible assets. Hence, using embedded value might be fairer than book value to assess its valuation vs. peers. On a P...

Alec Tseung

FWD IPO - Valuation Down but Its Difficult to Get Excited About It

FWD Group, a pan-Asian life insurer founded by Richard Li, aims to raise around US$442m in its HK IPO. In this note, we talk about the IPO pricing.

Sumeet Singh

Two Asian Life Insurance Stocks (Both Up >30% YTD) Worth Closer Looks

After years of underperformance, China Life and Prudential are finally recovering. China Life's agency restructuring is bearing fruit while...

Alec Tseung

FWD Group IPO: The Investment Case

This note outlines the investment case. My analysis suggests that the fundamentals are mixed as FWD is rapidly growing its new business, but at the...

Arun George

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