Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

David Blennerhassett

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Quiddity Advisors

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

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In my insight <a href="https://skr.ma/5UGLq" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Virtual IPOs/Direct Listings: Uninhibited Price Discovery</a> on the 29 November last year, I mentioned a white paper on special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) may be issued by the SGX in the first half of the following year. 
Last week the Business Times <a href="https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sgx-looking-into-listing-of-special-purpose-acquisition-companies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that a consultation could be launched by the SGX as early as this quarter.
SPACs, or blank-check companies, racked up ~US$80bn in the US in 2020. Once listed and cashed-up, SPACs target investment acquisitions or mergers, providing an alternate back-door listing opportunity for companies. In effect, SPACs synthetically combines a credit instrument with equity upside. 
SPACs are non-existent in Asia. SGX's expected consultation paper may herald a strategic push by the bourse to become Asia's SPAC hub. With some US-based SPACs packaging Southeast Asian assets, SGX's motives may well be one of "if you can't beat them, join them".
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In my insight Virtual IPOs/Direct Listings: Uninhibited Price Discovery on the 29 November last year, I mentioned a white paper on special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) may be issued by the SGX in the first half of the following year. 
Last week the Business Times reported that a consultation could be launched by the SGX as early as this quarter.
SPACs, or blank-check companies, racked up ~US$80bn in the US in 2020. Once listed and cashed-up, SPACs target investment acquisitions or mergers, providing an alternate back-door listing opportunity for companies. In effect, SPACs synthetically combines a credit instrument with equity upside. 
SPACs are non-existent in Asia. SGX's expected consultation paper may herald a strategic push by the bourse to become Asia's SPAC hub. With some US-based SPACs packaging Southeast Asian assets, SGX's motives may well be one of "if you can't beat them, join them".


Singapore Exchange: Asia's Future SPAC Hub

Necessity is the mother of financial innovation. The non-traditional listings of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/spotify-technology-sa" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26772:1" rel="noopener">Spotify Technology SA (SPOT US)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/slack-technologies-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27904:1" rel="noopener">Slack Technologies Inc (WORK US)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/palantir-technologies-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27728:1" rel="noopener">Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR US)</a> exhibit an increasing trend toward direct listings, in place of traditional IPOs incorporating lock-up agreements and dysfunctional pricing and allocation process.
This week Airbnb announced plans to go public next year joining the ranks of companies like Spotify and Slack that have used a direct listing to go public.
Is this IPO shortcut route appropriate for all companies? What are the pros and cons? And closer to home, which exchanges are open these virtual IPOs?
In this insight, I address the questions above, discuss various discussions with exchanges in the Asia-Pac regions, and also analyse alternative IPO routes such as special purpose acquisition company (SPACs).
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<h2>What's Original?</h2>
This insight explores the process, benefits, and track record to date of direct listings in equity markets, through to the current developments in Asia.
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Necessity is the mother of financial innovation. The non-traditional listings of Spotify Technology SA (SPOT US), Slack Technologies Inc (WORK US) and Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR US) exhibit an increasing trend toward direct listings, in place of traditional IPOs incorporating lock-up agreements and dysfunctional pricing and allocation process.
This week Airbnb announced plans to go public next year joining the ranks of companies like Spotify and Slack that have used a direct listing to go public.
Is this IPO shortcut route appropriate for all companies? What are the pros and cons? And closer to home, which exchanges are open these virtual IPOs?
In this insight, I address the questions above, discuss various discussions with exchanges in the Asia-Pac regions, and also analyse alternative IPO routes such as special purpose acquisition company (SPACs).

What's Original?
This insight explores the process, benefits, and track record to date of direct listings in equity markets, through to the current developments in Asia.


Virtual IPOs/Direct Listings: Uninhibited Price Discovery

Equity Analyst, LightStream Research

Shifara Samsudeen, FCMA, CGMA

Equity Analyst

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 Bottom-Up

Pushpay offers a software which allow attendees of church to make donations through mobile payments. The company operates predominantly in the US and the company is poised to benefit from growth in faith donations market in the US. The digital payments still account for a negligible share in the US church donations segment and Pushpay being a leading player in this niche market exposes the company with significant potential. Pushpay has just started making operating profits and we expect the company’s margins to expand further going forward.

Pushpay offers a software which allow attendees of church to make donations through mobile payments. The company operates predominantly in the US and the company is poised to benefit from growth in faith donations market in the US. The digital payments still account for a negligible share in the US church donations segment and Pushpay being a leading player in this niche market exposes the company with significant potential. Pushpay has just started making operating profits and we expect the company’s margins to expand further going forward.

Technical Analyst, Vermilion Research

Joe Jasper

Technical Analyst

Technical and Quantitative Research

Vermilion Research

Vermilion’s objective is to deliver timely, actionable, and unique technical research to professional investors through the application of our various technical indicators.

Our research strategists seek to highlight securities which we believe are at major inflection points, based on our various technical and quantitative indicators, and offer asymmetric risk/return profiles. Our unique research methodology, centered on relative strength, enables our strategists to deliver superior investment recommendations.

Our process begins by organizing the universe of actively traded stocks into discrete sectors, then into industry groups. We then apply our technical and quantitative tools to identify developing price trends. Once attractive trends are identified within a selected sector or group, we screen for individual stocks which we believe offer the best risk/reward profile. We provide a historical perspective that often reveals, through our long-term charts, how price patterns often repeat themselves over time.

Technical Analysis

We continue to see coronavirus concerns as helping correct the excess bullish sentiment across global equity markets in the short-term. Additionally, considering the dearth of breakdowns, we continue to believe this is a bull market until proven otherwise and a “buy the dip” strategy remains warranted. We recap importat technical levels across markets and highlight opportunities within the Services, Technology, Financial Services, and Staples Sectors.

We continue to see coronavirus concerns as helping correct the excess bullish sentiment across global equity markets in the short-term. Additionally, considering the dearth of breakdowns, we continue to believe this is a bull market until proven otherwise and a “buy the dip” strategy remains warranted. We recap importat technical levels across markets and highlight opportunities within the Services, Technology, Financial Services, and Staples Sectors.

Global Equity Strategy: Growth Over Value

EURO STOXX 50 Price EUR / Technical Analysis

This report highlights actionable set ups from predominately European, developed markets, and is supportive of our view that Europe is bottoming, a viewpoint that remains far from consensus. Within Europe, we put a spotlight on Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40. Today’s recommendations are primarily from cyclical Sectors, however European Consumer Staples also exhibits bottoming RS.

This report highlights actionable set ups from predominately European, developed markets, and is supportive of our view that Europe is bottoming, a viewpoint that remains far from consensus. Within Europe, we put a spotlight on Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40. Today’s recommendations are primarily from cyclical Sectors, however European Consumer Staples also exhibits bottoming RS. 

Developed Markets Chart Book: Europe in Focus

New Zealand

Pushpay Holdings Limited operates as a holding company. The Company, through its subsidiaries, designs and develops mobile payment application and solutions that allows users to donate to charities and non-profit organization. Pushpay Holdings conducts its business worldwide.

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Pushpay Holdings (PPH NZ)

Singapore Exchange: Asia's Future SPAC Hub

Often the disinclination to introduce change is due to an absence of public market sophistication or a deep ecosystem. The SGX should make amends...

David Blennerhassett

Virtual IPOs/Direct Listings: Uninhibited Price Discovery

There’s no cookie-cutter approach that should be employed for every company seeking to go public. But late-stage, venture-backed technology...

David Blennerhassett

Pushpay (Asia Payments): Have Faith

Pushpay offers a software which allow attendees of church to make donations through mobile payments. The company operates predominantly in the US...

Shifara Samsudeen, FCMA, CGMA

Global Equity Strategy: Growth Over Value

We continue to see coronavirus concerns as helping correct the excess bullish sentiment across global equity markets in the short-term....

Vermilion Research

Developed Markets Chart Book: Europe in Focus

This report highlights actionable set ups from predominately European, developed markets, and is supportive of our view that Europe is bottoming, a...

Vermilion Research

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