Korea / Special Sits, Pairs, Index Rebalancing, Clepsydra Capital

Sanghyun Park

Korea / Special Sits, Pairs, Index Rebalancing

Clepsydra Capital

Investigate special situations, pairs, and index rebalancing trades in Korea.

Event-Driven

<p>Many of the market participants were targeting the value disparity of SK Chemical vs. SK Chemicals. In the end, Metrica Partners became the first to make a move.</p><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/228/700/original/Screen+Shot+2021-09-08+at+6.05.10+PM.png?1631139447" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="228700"></figure></section><div class="content-caption">(Source: Metrica Partners website)</div><hr><p>SK Chemicals vs. SK Bioscience was still a tight pair until the end of July, maintaining its NAV discount at around 70%. It is hard to see a NAV discount of 70% as severely distorted among Korean holding company/subsidiary pairs. Yes, it is still a harsh discount, but it isn't unprecedented either.</p><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/228/692/original/Screen+Shot+2021-09-08+at+6.09.08+PM.png?1631138966" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="228692"></figure></section><p>But as SK Bioscience's stock price began to soar from August, the pair's coupling level completely collapsed.</p><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/228/693/original/image_94055596421631139004681.png?1631139006" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="228693"></figure><p>Despite a significant correction in yesterday's stock prices (both SK Chemicals and SK Bioscience), thanks to Metrica, SK Chemicals is posting a discount to NAV of close to 80% based on yesterday's closing price.</p><table class="table table-striped">
<colgroup>
<col width="70">
<col width="70">
</colgroup>
<tbody>
<tr><td colspan="2" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"NAV"}' data-sheets-note="Sang Hyun Park: Cases when a company's net cash position and the value of its publically traded interests are worth more than its market cap create the opportunity of a stub trade, in which investors can take a view that the company's core business will rise by shorting the minority stakes whilst going long the underlying. Such an opportunity has arisen in the wake of the Alibaba listing which has seen early investing company Yahoo trade at a discount to the value of its stake in Alibaba.">SK Chemicals NAV</td></tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Value of listed holdings"}'>Value of listed holdings</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":15024.148650000001}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,2,"₩#,##0.0B"]' data-sheets-formula="=SUM(R[8]C[5])">₩15,024.1B</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":" - % of Holdco market cap"}'>- % of Holdco market cap</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":4.401029440164908}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,3,"0.00%",1]' data-sheets-formula="=R[-1]C[0]/((R[3]C[-3]*R[0]C[-3])/1000000000)">440.10%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Value of unlisted holdings"}'>Value of unlisted holdings</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":82.819}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,2,"₩#,##0.0B"]' data-sheets-formula="=SUM(R[7]C[5])">₩82.8B</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Stub value"}'>Stub value</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":-11693.187112}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,2,"₩#,##0.0B"]' data-sheets-formula="=(R[1]C[-3]*R[-2]C[-3]/1000000000)-R[-3]C[0]-R[-1]C[0]">-₩11,693.2B</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Stub value per share"}'>Stub value per share</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":-995046.6405863609}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,2,"[$₩-412]#,##0",1]' data-sheets-formula="=R[-1]C[0]*1000000000/R[-3]C[-3]">-₩995,047</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Value of operating assets"}'>Value of operating assets</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":1500}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,2,"₩#,##0.0B"]' data-sheets-formula="=SUM(R[8]C[5])">₩1,500.0B</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"GAV"}'>GAV</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":16606.96765}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,2,"₩#,##0.0B"]' data-sheets-formula="=R[-6]C[0]+R[-4]C[0]+R[-1]C[0]">₩16,607.0B</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"GAV per share"}'>GAV per share</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":1414711.2925308687}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,2,"[$₩-412]#,##0",1]' data-sheets-formula="=R[-1]C[0]/R[4]C[-3]*1000000000">₩1,414,711</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Discount to GAV (excl. treasury shares)"}'>Discount to GAV (excl. treasury shares)</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0.7946577499354616}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,3,"0.00%",1]' data-sheets-formula="=(R[-1]C[0]-R[-4]C[-3])/R[-1]C[0]">79.47%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Holdco net cash/debt (de-consolidated)"}'>Holdco net cash/debt (de-consolidated)</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":-6.7}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,2,"₩#,##0.0B"]' data-sheets-formula="=R[5]C[5]">-₩6.7B</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Value of pref shares"}'>Value of pref shares</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":237.033875}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,2,"₩#,##0.0B"]' data-sheets-formula="=(R[-5]C[-3]*R[-2]C[-3]+R[-5]C[-2]*R[-2]C[-2])/1000000000">₩237.0B</td>
</tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"></td></tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"NAV"}'><strong>NAV</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":16363.233774999999}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,2,"₩#,##0.0B"]' data-sheets-formula="=R[-5]C[0]+R[-2]C[0]-R[-1]C[0]"><strong>₩16,363.2B</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"NAV per share (excl. treasury shares)"}'><strong>NAV per share (excl. treasury shares)</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":1393948.1362098644}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,2,"[$₩-412]#,##0",1]' data-sheets-formula="=R[-1]C[0]/R[-1]C[-3]*1000000000"><strong>₩1,393,948</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Discount to NAV"}'><strong>Discount to NAV</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0.7915991330998386}' data-sheets-numberformat='[null,3,"0.00%",1]' data-sheets-formula="=(R[-1]C[0]-R[-9]C[-3])/R[-1]C[0]"><strong>79.16%</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr><td colspan="2" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Source: KRX &amp; DART","6":1}'>Source: KRX &amp; DART</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table><div class="content-highlight"><p><strong>The discount rate of 80% compared to NAV is still very badly distorted even with the local average. This means that, despite yesterday's price corrections, there is still more room to trade for value disparity on SK Chemicals vs. SK Bioscience.</strong></p></div>

Many of the market participants were targeting the value disparity of SK Chemical vs. SK Chemicals. In the end, Metrica Partners became the first to make a move.(Source: Metrica Partners website)SK Chemicals vs. SK Bioscience was still a tight pair until the end of July, maintaining its NAV discount at around 70%. It is hard to see a NAV discount of 70% as severely distorted among Korean holding company/subsidiary pairs. Yes, it is still a harsh discount, but it isn't unprecedented either.But as SK Bioscience's stock price began to soar from August, the pair's coupling level completely collapsed.Despite a significant correction in yesterday's stock prices (both SK Chemicals and SK Bioscience), thanks to Metrica, SK Chemicals is posting a discount to NAV of close to 80% based on yesterday's closing price.





SK Chemicals NAV

Value of listed holdings
₩15,024.1B


- % of Holdco market cap
440.10%


Value of unlisted holdings
₩82.8B


Stub value
-₩11,693.2B


Stub value per share
-₩995,047


Value of operating assets
₩1,500.0B


GAV
₩16,607.0B


GAV per share
₩1,414,711


Discount to GAV (excl. treasury shares)
79.47%


Holdco net cash/debt (de-consolidated)
-₩6.7B


Value of pref shares
₩237.0B



NAV
₩16,363.2B


NAV per share (excl. treasury shares)
₩1,393,948


Discount to NAV
79.16%

Source: KRX &amp; DART

The discount rate of 80% compared to NAV is still very badly distorted even with the local average. This means that, despite yesterday's price corrections, there is still more room to trade for value disparity on SK Chemicals vs. SK Bioscience.

Metrica's Activist Move on SK Chemical Is a Well-Thought-Out Strategy

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

<p>A Singapore based activist hedge fund called Metrica Partners wrote a letter to the BOD of Sk Chemicals Co Ltd/New (285130 KS) which has become publicly available. The key highlights of the letter is that SK Chemicals should take partial profits on its stake in SK Bioscience (302440 KS) and pay higher dividends. Today, there was a big divergence in the share prices of SK Chemicals (up 8.8%) and SK Bioscience (down 6.7%). </p><p>Basically, the hedge fund believes that the shares of SK Chemicals are excessively undervalued, given its big stake (68.4%) in SK Bioscience. Metrica Partners currently has less than 5% stake in SK Chemicals. </p><div class="content-highlight">
<div>We believe that a higher probability scenario is for SK Chemicals to sell down about 3-5% stake in SK Bioscience which could be announced in the next 3-6 months. SK Bioscience currently has a market cap of 21.95 trillion won (287,000 won), If we take a 10% discount to this amount, it would be 19.76 trillion won and a 5% stake sale would involve 1 trillion won. </div>
<div></div>
<div>In other words, we would put a higher probability of SK Chemicals selling about 5% of its stake in SK Bioscience which could raise about 1 trillion won for the company. While this would be laudable, it would be much smaller than the measures proposed by Metrica. Of the 1 trillion won, we think that the BOD of SK Chemicals could allocate about 30-40% of this amount for special dividends.</div>
</div><div>All in all, a hedge fund going activist on SK Chemicals is likely to further rally the share price and we believe that the price gap between SK Chemicals and SK Bioscience is likely to narrow further in the weeks ahead. </div>

A Singapore based activist hedge fund called Metrica Partners wrote a letter to the BOD of Sk Chemicals Co Ltd/New (285130 KS) which has become publicly available. The key highlights of the letter is that SK Chemicals should take partial profits on its stake in SK Bioscience (302440 KS) and pay higher dividends. Today, there was a big divergence in the share prices of SK Chemicals (up 8.8%) and SK Bioscience (down 6.7%). Basically, the hedge fund believes that the shares of SK Chemicals are excessively undervalued, given its big stake (68.4%) in SK Bioscience. Metrica Partners currently has less than 5% stake in SK Chemicals. 
We believe that a higher probability scenario is for SK Chemicals to sell down about 3-5% stake in SK Bioscience which could be announced in the next 3-6 months. SK Bioscience currently has a market cap of 21.95 trillion won (287,000 won), If we take a 10% discount to this amount, it would be 19.76 trillion won and a 5% stake sale would involve 1 trillion won. 

In other words, we would put a higher probability of SK Chemicals selling about 5% of its stake in SK Bioscience which could raise about 1 trillion won for the company. While this would be laudable, it would be much smaller than the measures proposed by Metrica. Of the 1 trillion won, we think that the BOD of SK Chemicals could allocate about 30-40% of this amount for special dividends.
All in all, a hedge fund going activist on SK Chemicals is likely to further rally the share price and we believe that the price gap between SK Chemicals and SK Bioscience is likely to narrow further in the weeks ahead. 

Metrica Partners Urges SK Chemicals to Partially Sell SK Bioscience & Pay Higher Dividends

<p>Starting this year, KRX will rebalance the KOSPI size index series (LargeCap, MidCap, and SmallCap) twice a year. Until last year, it was done once a year in March (the option expiration date). <span>However, from this year, the rebalancing is done twice a year, in March and September.</span></p><div class="content-highlight"><ul>
<li><strong>The screening method is simple and clear. It is based on the 3-month average daily market cap.</strong></li>
<li><strong>LargeCap includes 1st to 100th, and MidCap takes 101st to 300th.</strong></li>
<li><strong>The screening base date is the last trading day of February and August. So, this September rebalancing review period is June 1 to August 31.</strong></li>
</ul></div><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/227/642/original/Screen+Shot+2021-09-02+at+10.06.47+PM.png?1630634901" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="227642"></figure></section>

Starting this year, KRX will rebalance the KOSPI size index series (LargeCap, MidCap, and SmallCap) twice a year. Until last year, it was done once a year in March (the option expiration date). However, from this year, the rebalancing is done twice a year, in March and September.
The screening method is simple and clear. It is based on the 3-month average daily market cap.
LargeCap includes 1st to 100th, and MidCap takes 101st to 300th.
The screening base date is the last trading day of February and August. So, this September rebalancing review period is June 1 to August 31.


KOSPI LargeCap & MidCap Rebalancing Preview on September 9

Equity Bottom-Up

<p><strong>In this insight, we provide an NAV valuation sensitivity analysis of SK Chemicals. SK Chemicals has an 68.4% stake in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sk-bioscience-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:31484:1" rel="noopener">SK Bioscience (302440 KS)</a> which is worth 17.6 trillion won versus SK Chemicals' current market cap of 3.4 trillion won. </strong></p><ul>
<li>In Case A, we used the current market value of SK Bioscience. In the NAV analysis Case A, it suggests a target price of 766,134 won, which is 168% higher than current price.</li>
<li>In Case B, we used the average of the high/low value of SK Bioscience's share price in the past five months. In the NAV analysis Case B, it suggests a target price of 546,265 won, which is 91% higher than the current price.</li>
<li>In Case C, we used the low price of SK Bioscience in the past five months. In the NAV analysis Case C, it suggests a target price of 267,389 won, which is 6.5% lower than the current price.</li>
</ul><div class="content-highlight">
<p>Clearly, SK Chemicals is trading at a steep discount to its NAV. Part of this reason may be because the market may not be fully willing to reflect SK Bioscience's current market value on its controlling stake. Since its IPO in March 2021, SK Bioscience has been a huge winner and it has also vastly outperformed against SK Chemicals.</p>
<p>However, there appears to be too much valuation gap between these two companies and in the coming months, we believe that there is a higher probability of SK Chemicals outperforming versus SK Bioscience, especially as the value investors try to pick up on SK Chemicals whose market cap is only 19% of its stake in SK Bioscience. </p>
</div>

In this insight, we provide an NAV valuation sensitivity analysis of SK Chemicals. SK Chemicals has an 68.4% stake in SK Bioscience (302440 KS) which is worth 17.6 trillion won versus SK Chemicals' current market cap of 3.4 trillion won. 
In Case A, we used the current market value of SK Bioscience. In the NAV analysis Case A, it suggests a target price of 766,134 won, which is 168% higher than current price.
In Case B, we used the average of the high/low value of SK Bioscience's share price in the past five months. In the NAV analysis Case B, it suggests a target price of 546,265 won, which is 91% higher than the current price.
In Case C, we used the low price of SK Bioscience in the past five months. In the NAV analysis Case C, it suggests a target price of 267,389 won, which is 6.5% lower than the current price.

Clearly, SK Chemicals is trading at a steep discount to its NAV. Part of this reason may be because the market may not be fully willing to reflect SK Bioscience's current market value on its controlling stake. Since its IPO in March 2021, SK Bioscience has been a huge winner and it has also vastly outperformed against SK Chemicals.
However, there appears to be too much valuation gap between these two companies and in the coming months, we believe that there is a higher probability of SK Chemicals outperforming versus SK Bioscience, especially as the value investors try to pick up on SK Chemicals whose market cap is only 19% of its stake in SK Bioscience. 


SK Chemicals - Its Market Cap Is Only 19% of Its Stake in SK Bioscience

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One, Periscope Analytics

Brian Freitas

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One

Quantitative Analysis

<div><p>The Asia Short Interest weekly looks at moves in market wide short interest and highlights movements in stock specific short interest across Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan using the last available data published by the relevant authorities.</p></div><div><p>Hong Kong saw shorts rise on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/alibaba-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28434:1" rel="noopener">Alibaba Group (9988 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/byd-co-ltd-h" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:20962:1" rel="noopener">BYD (1211 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/aia-group-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:14895:1" rel="noopener">AIA Group Ltd (1299 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/xiaomi-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24409:1" rel="noopener">Xiaomi Corp (1810 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/byd-electronic-international-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1927:1" rel="noopener">BYD Electronics (285 HK)</a> while there was short covering on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ping-an-insurance-grp-co-of-china-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12880:1" rel="noopener">Ping An Insurance (H) (2318 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/country-garden-services-holdings-company-limited" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27343:1" rel="noopener">Country Garden Services Holdings (6098 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/meituan-dianping" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26970:1" rel="noopener">Meituan (3690 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/postal-savings-bank-of-china" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22848:1" rel="noopener">Postal Savings Bank of China (1658 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/citic-securities-h" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:463:1" rel="noopener">Citic Securities (H) (6030 HK)</a>. Shorts increased in the Consumer Discretionary, Information Technology, Health Care and Communication Services sectors, and decreased in the Financials and Industrials sectors.</p></div><div><p>In Japan, stocks that saw the most shorts were <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/toshiba-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:637:1" rel="noopener">Toshiba Corp (6502 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/cosmos-pharmaceutical-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:3797:1" rel="noopener">Cosmos Pharmaceutical (3349 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/rakus-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:29200:1" rel="noopener">Rakus Co Ltd (3923 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/daito-trust-construct-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:10503:1" rel="noopener">Daito Trust Construct (1878 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/aeon-financial-service-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:5887:1" rel="noopener">Aeon Financial (8570 JP)</a> while shorts decreased on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ryohin-keikaku-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:2765:1" rel="noopener">Ryohin Keikaku (7453 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/aeon-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:3:1" rel="noopener">Aeon Co Ltd (8267 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/lasertec-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:4126:1" rel="noopener">Lasertec Corp (6920 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/isetan-mitsukoshi-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18871:1" rel="noopener">Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd (3099 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/mitsui-mining-smelting-co" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:15998:1" rel="noopener">Mitsui Mining &amp; Smelting Co (5706 JP)</a>. Shorts increased in the Industrials and Financials sectors, and decreased in the Consumer Discretionary sector.</p></div><div>
<p>Short selling finally resumed in Korea this week. Shorts increased on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/celltrion-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:991:1" rel="noopener">Celltrion Inc (068270 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/lg-display-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:7145:1" rel="noopener">LG Display (034220 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sk-hynix-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:16955:1" rel="noopener">SK Hynix (000660 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/netmarble-corporation" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22839:1" rel="noopener">Netmarble Corporation (251270 KS)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/naver-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:16029:1" rel="noopener">Naver Corp (035420 KS)</a>. The largest percentage increase in shorts was seen on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hyundai-rotem-company" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1554:1" rel="noopener">Hyundai Rotem Company (064350 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sk-chemicals-co-ltd-new" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26190:1" rel="noopener">Sk Chemicals Co Ltd/New (285130 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/daewoo-shipbuilding-marine-engineering" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12531:1" rel="noopener">Daewoo Shipbuilding &amp; Marine Engineering (042660 KS)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/e-mart-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6993:1" rel="noopener">E Mart Inc (139480 KS)</a>.</p>
<p>In Taiwan, shorts increased on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/novatek-microelectronics-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:10904:1" rel="noopener">Novatek Microelectronics Corp (3034 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/yang-ming-marine-transport" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8502:1" rel="noopener">Yang Ming Marine Transport (2609 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/taiwan-cement" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:19736:1" rel="noopener">Taiwan Cement (1101 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/au-optronics-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6704:1" rel="noopener">AU Optronics (2409 TT)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/mediatek-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:772:1" rel="noopener">Mediatek Inc (2454 TT)</a>, while shorts covered on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/wisdom-marine-lines-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:10001:1" rel="noopener">Wisdom Marine Lines (2637 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/wiwynn-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27838:1" rel="noopener">Wiwynn Corp (6669 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/richwave-technology-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18629:1" rel="noopener">Richwave Technology (4968 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hon-hai-precision-industry-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:745:1" rel="noopener">Hon Hai Precision Industry (2317 TT)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hannstar-display-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13922:1" rel="noopener">Hannstar Display (6116 TT)</a>. </p>
</div>

The Asia Short Interest weekly looks at moves in market wide short interest and highlights movements in stock specific short interest across Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan using the last available data published by the relevant authorities.Hong Kong saw shorts rise on Alibaba Group (9988 HK), BYD (1211 HK), AIA Group Ltd (1299 HK), Xiaomi Corp (1810 HK) and BYD Electronics (285 HK) while there was short covering on Ping An Insurance (H) (2318 HK), Country Garden Services Holdings (6098 HK), Meituan (3690 HK), Postal Savings Bank of China (1658 HK) and Citic Securities (H) (6030 HK). Shorts increased in the Consumer Discretionary, Information Technology, Health Care and Communication Services sectors, and decreased in the Financials and Industrials sectors.In Japan, stocks that saw the most shorts were Toshiba Corp (6502 JP), Cosmos Pharmaceutical (3349 JP), Rakus Co Ltd (3923 JP), Daito Trust Construct (1878 JP) and Aeon Financial (8570 JP) while shorts decreased on Ryohin Keikaku (7453 JP), Aeon Co Ltd (8267 JP), Lasertec Corp (6920 JP), Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd (3099 JP) and Mitsui Mining &amp; Smelting Co (5706 JP). Shorts increased in the Industrials and Financials sectors, and decreased in the Consumer Discretionary sector.
Short selling finally resumed in Korea this week. Shorts increased on Celltrion Inc (068270 KS), LG Display (034220 KS), SK Hynix (000660 KS), Netmarble Corporation (251270 KS) and Naver Corp (035420 KS). The largest percentage increase in shorts was seen on Hyundai Rotem Company (064350 KS), Sk Chemicals Co Ltd/New (285130 KS), Daewoo Shipbuilding &amp; Marine Engineering (042660 KS) and E Mart Inc (139480 KS).
In Taiwan, shorts increased on Novatek Microelectronics Corp (3034 TT), Yang Ming Marine Transport (2609 TT), Taiwan Cement (1101 TT), AU Optronics (2409 TT) and Mediatek Inc (2454 TT), while shorts covered on Wisdom Marine Lines (2637 TT), Wiwynn Corp (6669 TT), Richwave Technology (4968 TT), Hon Hai Precision Industry (2317 TT) and Hannstar Display (6116 TT). 


Asia Shorts: BYD, Ping An, Toshiba, Rakus, Aeon, Celltrion, LG Display, SK Chem, Novatek, Yang Ming

South Korea

SK Chemicals Co.,Ltd manufactures environmentally friendly materials. The Company produces and sells composites, high-performance materials, energy saving materials, and other products. SK Chemicals also offers total healthcare solutions services. SK Chemicals serves customers worldwide.

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SK Chemicals (285130 KS)

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