Daily Brief Consumer: Hong Leong Asia, Coway Co Ltd, Coupang , Nissan Motor, CompAsia, Ajinomoto Co, Major Holdings, Colowide Co Ltd, Sharp Corp, Amwill Health Care and more

• Hong Leong Asia (HLA) is a Singapore holding company with two key drivers: a 48.70% controlling stake in NYSE-listed China Yuchai International (“CYI”), one of China’s main diesel engine makers, and an integrated building materials business in Singapore and Malaysia.
• Trailing twelve-month (TTM) PATMI reached S$148.7m to 30 June 2026, more than double FY2023, as engine volumes, data centre demand and Singapore’s construction upcycle lifted both segments.
• About 47% of HLA’s market value is covered by its listed stakes in China Yuchai and BRC Asia at market.

• Coway Co Ltd (021240 KS) counts around 35% of its revenue from Southeast Asia particularly Malaysia and Thailand, where it recorded high growth, offsetting the mature domestic Korean market. 
• Due to the current haze season that may last until November, Coway’s revenues are supposed to be carried up and its share price may see multiple expansion as well. 
• At <2x PBV, 11x PER and 8x EV/EBITDA, a defensive stock that is committed to Value Up program, including cancellations of treasury and maintaining dividends, it sounds like a bargin. 

• In the book Free Capital, the private investor Vernon talks about his strategy of buying growth stocks when they encounter “glitches” – temporary market overreactions to negative events.
• I try to catch that company when nobody wants it, while it is still working through its problems” – VernonSouth Korean e-commerce operator Coupang (CPNG US – US$26 billion) is a test of that idea.
• The stock sold off after its cybersecurity breach in November 2025.

• Context: This Insight follows up on previously highlighted relative value opportunities, using a statistical methodology based on mean-reversion to identify opportunities in paired securities.
• Highlights: In Japan, currently two pair trade opportunities persist across two sectors.
• Why read: Statistical analysis offers a unique perspective on relative value. Gain insights into actionable statistical pair trade opportunities and monitor performance of previously highlighted pairs.

• CompAsia is Southeast Asia’s leading vertically integrated recommerce operator, executing a strategic roadmap toward a Main Market initial public offering on Bursa Malaysia planned for 1H 2027 to raise an estimated MYR 400-500 million (USD 101-126 million).
• The company’s proprietary Device-as-a-Service model, ReNewNGo, launched in 2024, is transforming unit economics by migrating one-off hardware sales toward high-margin recurring cash flows, targeting 50,000 subscribers by end-2026 and 100,000 by 2027.
• Near-term operational execution is centered on aggressive retail store expansion from 70 to 150 locations by end-2026, though institutional investors must weigh balance-sheet credit exposure and working capital demands inherent in financing device subscriptions internally.

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• Ajinomoto, the Japanese company best known for seasoning, makes a thin film that sits between the layers of wiring under nearly all high-performance computer processors, by its own account.
• AI chips sit on ever bigger and thicker bases, so by my reading each one needs more of that film than the chip before it.
• Chipmakers rarely switch to a rival film, because testing a new one takes a long time, and that keeps the growth with Ajinomoto.

• Subdued Top-Line Trajectory and Restructuring Progress: Major Holdings Limited (1389 HK) continues to navigate prolonged top-line contraction, with revenue declining from HK$63.04M in FY2024 to HK$52.76M in FY2026 (a 3-year CAGR of -10.84%). Nevertheless, aggressive operational streamlining and reduced inventory impairment provisions enabled a gross margin recovery to 12.19% and a significant reduction in attributable net loss to -HK$1.85M in FY2026 from -HK$13.36M in FY2025.
• Persistent Cash Burn and Balance Sheet Strain: Despite earnings loss containment, operating cash flow remained deeply negative at -HK$5.33M in FY2026 and -HK$12.20M in FY2025, driven by tied-up working capital in slow-moving inventory and constrained trade credit terms. Free cash flow stood at -HK$5.33M in FY2026, leading to a sustained drawdown of cash balances and zero dividend payouts over the last three fiscal years.
• Unfavourable Risk-Reward Profile at Current Valuation: At the last closing price of HK$0.52, Major Holdings carries a market capitalisation of approximately HK$288.25M against reported net assets of HK$107.76M, implying a Price-to-Book multiple of ~2.67x. Given ongoing operational losses, micro-cap liquidity constraints, concentrated board leadership, and severe competitive intensity within Hong Kong luxury wine retail, the risk-adjusted return profile remains uncompelling for institutional capital.

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• Stick with restaurant group Colowide Co Ltd (7616 JP), despite the elevated implied stub and NAV discount. And Genting Bhd (GENT MK) craters on rights issue plan.
• Preceding my comments on Colowide and Genting are the current setup/unwind tables for Asia-Pacific Holdcos.
• These relationships trade with a minimum liquidity of US$1mn, and a % market capitalisation >20%.

• Sharp Corp (6753 JP) has a valuation disconnect: Free Cash Flow, Reported Earnings and Share Price. 
• Sharp’s heavy capex business model shrank its Free cash flow over time, leading to an underperformance while Panasonic Corp (6752 JP) has pivoted to new industries. 
• The management of Sharp will need to pivot to AI or any asset light business but it may not come any time soon. 

• Amwill Health Care (AMWILL IN) operates an asset-light, formulation-centric derma-cosmetic model focused on dermatology, trichology, and cosmetology, outsourcing capital-intensive manufacturing while retaining formulation and brand equity.
• Financial performance demonstrates strong operating leverage with FY2026 revenue of INR 431.92M, EBITDA margins of 30.70%, and a substantial free cash flow turnaround to INR 101.55M, supported by pristine debt metrics.
• At the current market price of INR 43.00, the stock trades at an attractive trailing P/E of approximately 9.4x with an emerging 1.16% dividend yield, presenting favorable risk-reward relative to domestic formulation peers.

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