Managing Director

Elan Gore

TMI Data Science

TMI Data Science utilizes Natural Language Processing to build custom leading indicators using unstructured data sourced from the global financial, trade & traditional media.  Our proprietary software, TMI Machine, is a text-mining platform designed with the buy-side & capital markets professional in mind, text-mining the global media to discern and quantify nuanced qualitative shifts in press coverage as they apply to macroeconomics, equity indexes/ETFs, commodities, currencies, fixed income & individual equities.  TMI provides custom leading indicators and systematic trading strategies, operating at the nexus of linguistics & statistics drawing on vast experience in investment banking and hedge fund settings in senior quantitative and fundamental roles.  

TMI Data Science was founded by Elan Gore, an award-winning Senior Global Basic Materials Equity Analyst & China Economist with 15 years of experience in North American hedge funds & institutional managers; and Alessandro Porrino, Ph.D., an Algorithmic Trading Analyst and Programmer with 10 years of front-office experience ranging from complex FX option pricing to auto-hedging strategies at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Standard Chartered.  Mr. Gore holds an MBA in Finance from New York University Stern School of Business, and Mr. Porrino holds a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering from Brunel University London.

Cross Asset Strategy

<ul>
<li>In the first week of 2021, TMI's machinery sentiment indicators hit their highest levels since pre-pandemic readings, attributed to recent bullish commentary from the likes of Sany Heavy, Hengli Hydraulic, Zoomlion and the CCMA (China Construction Machinery Association); the indicators have been strongly correlated with <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/caterpillar-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:697:1" rel="noopener">Caterpillar Inc (CAT US)</a> , <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/komatsu-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8416:1" rel="noopener">Komatsu Ltd (6301 JP)</a> &amp; <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/zoomlion-heavy-industry-h" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:7817:1" rel="noopener">Zoomlion Heavy Industry H (1157 HK) </a> with a slight lead</li>
<li>On Friday, Komatsu reported Komtrax equipment utilization data for December, highlighting sharply stronger average hours of machinery use Y/Y comps in key jurisdictions</li>
<li>The CCMA recently pointed out that Chinese OEMs expect 2021 demand to range from high single-digits to 15% Y/Y while the association expects a range of 8-10% supported by continued robust infrastructure FAI</li>
<li>Komatsu's European data indicates potential positive surprise with a second month of +4% Y/Y growth, despite weaker EU Construction PMI readings throughout Q4</li>
<li>US data also highlights a first positive utilization comp in over a year, despite still-tentative construction spending data and slippage in the ABI index</li>
<li>Japanese machinery utilization also bounced back in December to its best Y/Y comp in more than a year, with elevated public sector construction in progress and a potential inflection in housing starts</li>
<li>Given such a robust starting point for 2021, markets are more likely to look through seasonal air pockets going into Spring</li>
</ul>


In the first week of 2021, TMI's machinery sentiment indicators hit their highest levels since pre-pandemic readings, attributed to recent bullish commentary from the likes of Sany Heavy, Hengli Hydraulic, Zoomlion and the CCMA (China Construction Machinery Association); the indicators have been strongly correlated with Caterpillar Inc (CAT US) , Komatsu Ltd (6301 JP) &amp; Zoomlion Heavy Industry H (1157 HK)  with a slight lead
On Friday, Komatsu reported Komtrax equipment utilization data for December, highlighting sharply stronger average hours of machinery use Y/Y comps in key jurisdictions
The CCMA recently pointed out that Chinese OEMs expect 2021 demand to range from high single-digits to 15% Y/Y while the association expects a range of 8-10% supported by continued robust infrastructure FAI
Komatsu's European data indicates potential positive surprise with a second month of +4% Y/Y growth, despite weaker EU Construction PMI readings throughout Q4
US data also highlights a first positive utilization comp in over a year, despite still-tentative construction spending data and slippage in the ABI index
Japanese machinery utilization also bounced back in December to its best Y/Y comp in more than a year, with elevated public sector construction in progress and a potential inflection in housing starts
Given such a robust starting point for 2021, markets are more likely to look through seasonal air pockets going into Spring


TMI Snapshot: Machinery Sentiment at Pre-COVID High as Komtrax Data Shows Synchronized Global Surge

HK/China Equity Long-Short

Osbert Tang, CFA

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

Even with an extremely strong sales performance in this year, the excavator industry is still expecting promising outlook for 2021, with the projected sales growth ranging between 5% and 20%.  The positive tone of the industry should bode well for China's construction machinery sector in next year - <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sany-heavy-industry-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:20183:1" rel="noopener">Sany Heavy Industry (600031 CH)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/xcmg-construction-machin-a" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:426:1" rel="noopener">Xcmg Construction Machin A (000425 CH)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/zoomlion-heavy-industry-h" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:7817:1" rel="noopener">Zoomlion Heavy Industry H (1157 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/lonking-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:3944:1" rel="noopener">Lonking Holdings (3339 HK)</a>.As for Nov, excavator sales growth sustained the powerful trend with a 68% YoY increase, driven partly by a recovery in export momentum. Wheel loader sales have moderated lightly to 7.4% in the month, but remained ahead of the 11M20 growth rate of 5.8%. We like Lonking's quality management and sound financial position. The stock now trades on attractive 4.8x PER, 0.81x P/B and 11.3% yield for FY20, with net cash amounting to 31% of its market cap.

Even with an extremely strong sales performance in this year, the excavator industry is still expecting promising outlook for 2021, with the projected sales growth ranging between 5% and 20%.  The positive tone of the industry should bode well for China's construction machinery sector in next year - Sany Heavy Industry (600031 CH), Xcmg Construction Machin A (000425 CH), Zoomlion Heavy Industry H (1157 HK) and Lonking Holdings (3339 HK).As for Nov, excavator sales growth sustained the powerful trend with a 68% YoY increase, driven partly by a recovery in export momentum. Wheel loader sales have moderated lightly to 7.4% in the month, but remained ahead of the 11M20 growth rate of 5.8%. We like Lonking's quality management and sound financial position. The stock now trades on attractive 4.8x PER, 0.81x P/B and 11.3% yield for FY20, with net cash amounting to 31% of its market cap.

China Construction Machinery: Industry Players Expressed Bullish Outlook for 2021

Asset Allocation & Fund Positioning, Copley Fund Research

Steven Holden

Asset Allocation & Fund Positioning

Copley Fund Research

Copley Fund Research provide research and data on asset allocation among Global and Emerging Market equity funds.  The analysis details absolute and relative positioning across countries, sectors and industries together with highly granular data on single stock and single fund allocations.  The data is updated monthly with time series going back to January 2011.

Global Research - Analysis of 165 prominent Global equity funds, combined AUM $335bn
GEM Research - Analysis of 127 prominent global EM equity funds, combined AUM $250bn

Asset Allocation - Global and GEM Equity

Last month saw China allocations hit record levels across Asia Ex-Japan, Emerging Market and Global active long-only funds.  The average China weight in Asia Ex-Japan funds stands at a record 50.96%, in active GEM funds a record 37.63% and in active Global funds an all-time high of 5.33%However, these increases have come at the expense of greater concentration.  Among Global managers, the top 10 largest China stock holdings now account for 62% of total China allocations, among GEM and Asia Ex-Japan funds just under 50% - an all-time high across all 3 investor groups. Dedicated China managers, however, are more diversified.  In this analysis, we look at the differences between dedicated China funds and their regional peers.  We find that Asia, GEM and Global managers are more concentrated in the Consumer Discretionary and Communication Services sectors, whereas dedicated China managers are more diversified across Technology, Industrials and Health Care stocks.  Regional funds are also underinvested in China A-Shares compared to dedicated China managers, who are running significant overweights vs the MSCI China benchmark.We identify the next generation of Chinese stocks outside of the big index names by following the lead of dedicated managers in the region.  We provide a list of 40 stocks, identified as 'Next Generation' stocks due to their widespread investment in dedicated China funds, but that are currently underowned by Asia Ex-Japan, GEM and Global investors.The list is headed by <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/jiangsu-hengrui-medicine-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:14128:1" rel="noopener">Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine (600276 CH)</a>, one of the standout domestic holdings within the Health Care sector, followed by <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-tourism-group-duty-free-corp-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12278:1" rel="noopener">China Tourism Group Duty Free Corp Ltd (601888 CH)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/luxshare-precision-industry-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12310:1" rel="noopener">Luxshare Precision Industry (002475 CH)</a> .Analysis taken from our Global, GEM, Asia Ex-Japan and China fund universes.  Global:  386 Active Funds, combined AUM $750bn                                                                                        GEM:  242 Active Funds, combined AUM $370bn                                                                                          Asia Ex-Japan: 98 Active Funds, combined AUM $70bn                                                                              China:  119 Active Funds, combined AUM $50bn

Last month saw China allocations hit record levels across Asia Ex-Japan, Emerging Market and Global active long-only funds.  The average China weight in Asia Ex-Japan funds stands at a record 50.96%, in active GEM funds a record 37.63% and in active Global funds an all-time high of 5.33%However, these increases have come at the expense of greater concentration.  Among Global managers, the top 10 largest China stock holdings now account for 62% of total China allocations, among GEM and Asia Ex-Japan funds just under 50% - an all-time high across all 3 investor groups. Dedicated China managers, however, are more diversified.  In this analysis, we look at the differences between dedicated China funds and their regional peers.  We find that Asia, GEM and Global managers are more concentrated in the Consumer Discretionary and Communication Services sectors, whereas dedicated China managers are more diversified across Technology, Industrials and Health Care stocks.  Regional funds are also underinvested in China A-Shares compared to dedicated China managers, who are running significant overweights vs the MSCI China benchmark.We identify the next generation of Chinese stocks outside of the big index names by following the lead of dedicated managers in the region.  We provide a list of 40 stocks, identified as 'Next Generation' stocks due to their widespread investment in dedicated China funds, but that are currently underowned by Asia Ex-Japan, GEM and Global investors.The list is headed by Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine (600276 CH), one of the standout domestic holdings within the Health Care sector, followed by China Tourism Group Duty Free Corp Ltd (601888 CH) and Luxshare Precision Industry (002475 CH) .Analysis taken from our Global, GEM, Asia Ex-Japan and China fund universes.  Global:  386 Active Funds, combined AUM $750bn                                                                                        GEM:  242 Active Funds, combined AUM $370bn                                                                                          Asia Ex-Japan: 98 Active Funds, combined AUM $70bn                                                                              China:  119 Active Funds, combined AUM $50bn

China's Next Generation:  Diversifying Away from Tencent and Alibaba.

<ul>
<li>China Industrials attract further inflows from dedicated active China funds.</li>
<li>Machinery and Electrical Equipment industry groups dominate holdings within the sector.</li>
<li>Buying seen in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/contemporary-amperex-techn-a" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24404:1" rel="noopener">CATL (A) (300750 CH)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sany-heavy-industry-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:20183:1" rel="noopener">Sany Heavy Industry (600031 CH)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ever-sunshine-lifestyle-services-group-limited" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28932:1" rel="noopener">Ever Sunshine Lifestyle Services (1995 HK)</a>.  Selling in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/zhuzhou-csr-times-electric-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18:1" rel="noopener">Zhuzhou Csr Times Electric Co, Ltd. (3898 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/beijing-new-building-materials-plc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13910:1" rel="noopener">Beijing New Building Materials (000786 CH)</a>
</li>
<li>Industrials move to top sector overweight among active China funds.</li>
</ul>


China Industrials attract further inflows from dedicated active China funds.
Machinery and Electrical Equipment industry groups dominate holdings within the sector.
Buying seen in CATL (A) (300750 CH), Sany Heavy Industry (600031 CH) and Ever Sunshine Lifestyle Services (1995 HK).  Selling in Zhuzhou Csr Times Electric Co, Ltd. (3898 HK) and Beijing New Building Materials (000786 CH)

Industrials move to top sector overweight among active China funds.


China Funds Increase Industrials Exposure, Moves to Top Overweight

China Specialist, Auto and Industrial Specialist

Victoria Li

The exceptional 2020 is about to end. We expect China's construction machinery sales to record a new high for FY2020. However, would China's construction machinery sector continue growing at the same fast pace in 2021E? Probably not!
<ol>
<li>We believe excavators replacement demand probably peak this year.</li>
<li>Infrastructure demand might decline yoy in 2021E.</li>
<li>Property construction demand would turn weak soon, with the new starts of property floor space trends down.</li>
</ol>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sany-heavy-industry-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:20183" rel="noopener">Sany Heavy Industry (600031 CH)</a> would be affected first as its earnings mainly come from early stage machines. <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/zoomlion-heavy-industry-h" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:7817" rel="noopener">Zoomlion Heavy Industry H (1157 HK)</a> earnings growth is overtaking Sany's and might slow down in 2H2021. We suggest to switch from Sany Heavy to Zoomlion.

The exceptional 2020 is about to end. We expect China's construction machinery sales to record a new high for FY2020. However, would China's construction machinery sector continue growing at the same fast pace in 2021E? Probably not!

We believe excavators replacement demand probably peak this year.
Infrastructure demand might decline yoy in 2021E.
Property construction demand would turn weak soon, with the new starts of property floor space trends down.

Sany Heavy Industry (600031 CH) would be affected first as its earnings mainly come from early stage machines. Zoomlion Heavy Industry H (1157 HK) earnings growth is overtaking Sany's and might slow down in 2H2021. We suggest to switch from Sany Heavy to Zoomlion.

China Construction Machinery: Risks Rise in 2021E

China

SANY Heavy Industry Co., Ltd manufactures and markets construction and engineering machinery and related parts. The Company produces and sells concrete pumps, concrete pump vehicles, road rollers, pavers, and other related products. Sany Heavy Industry markets its products worldwide.

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

Sany Heavy Industry (600031 CH)

TMI Snapshot: Machinery Sentiment at Pre-COVID High as Komtrax Data Shows Synchronized Global Surge

TMI's Machinery Sentiment Indicators are now back to pre-pandemic levels, while Komatsu's Friday release of Komtrax machinery utilization hours...

Elan Gore

China Construction Machinery: Industry Players Expressed Bullish Outlook for 2021

Industry expectation of 5-20% growth in excavator sales in 2021 is bullish to China's construction machinery sector; and while not the largest...

Osbert Tang, CFA

China's Next Generation: Diversifying Away from Tencent and Alibaba.

China exposure is becoming more concentrated in a small number of large cap stocks. We identify the next generation of China stocks by analyzing...

Steven Holden

China Funds Increase Industrials Exposure, Moves to Top Overweight

Inflows in to Machinery and Electrical Equipment stocks push the Industrial sector to the top overweight among active China funds.

Steven Holden

China Construction Machinery: Risks Rise in 2021E

We expect China's construction machinery sales to record a new high for FY2020. However, would China's construction machinery sector continue...

Victoria Li

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)