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Smartkarma Daily Briefs

Daily Brief Financials: Seoul Guarantee Insurance, KakaoBank , Nikkei 225, Bandhan Bank Ltd, Axis Bank Ltd, Goodman Group, Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust and more

By | Daily Briefs, Financials

In today’s briefing:

  • Seoul Guarantee Insurance Corp IPO – Cancelled
  • Understanding Kakao Bank’s Overhang Risk from Legal Consequences for Kakao Corp
  • EQD | Nikkei 225 MONTHLY Rally May Be Finally Coming
  • Bandhan Bank: Not Yet, Not Yet! (2Q24 Update)
  • Axis Bank – Loan Mix Improving Dramatically | Strong ALM | Credit Costs Likely to Narrow Sharply
  • Australia Real Estate: Long Goodman Group GMG and Short DEXUS DXS Pair Trade
  • Morning Views Asia: Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust, Vedanta Resources


Seoul Guarantee Insurance Corp IPO – Cancelled

By Douglas Kim

  • Seoul Guarantee Insurance (031210 KS) stated today that it will cancel its IPO mainly due to low demand.
  • Despite the company’s emphasis on high dividends and high ROA of 5.8% in 2022 (5x average ROA of the domestic non-life insurance companies), many institutional investors emphasized on the negatives.
  • The major negatives include high interest rates, lack of growth potential, concerns about additional shares sale overhang, and unattractive valuations. 

Understanding Kakao Bank’s Overhang Risk from Legal Consequences for Kakao Corp

By Sanghyun Park

  • Financial regulators will likely mandate Kakao Corp to divest all but 10% of its stake in Kakao Bank. The deadline is six months from the date of the order.
  • If this issue is resolved through the forced sale of the stake, it is anticipated that this stake volume will eventually be released into the market through block deals.
  • Kakao may proactively divest its Kakao Bank stake to transfer the majority shareholder position to KIS, regardless of the judicial outcome.

EQD | Nikkei 225 MONTHLY Rally May Be Finally Coming

By Nico Rosti

  • The Nikkei 225 (NKY) INDEX closed last week down at 31259.36. It’s currently trading between the Q2 and Q3 WEEKLY support levels and down for 4 months, so it’s OVERSOLD.
  • The index could reverse this week, or fall more into the end of October, but if this week closes down, the odds are very good for a rally in November.
  • Consider going LONG between here and supports in the 30600-30400 price area, a MONTHLY reversal could last at least 2-4 weeks (a month).

Bandhan Bank: Not Yet, Not Yet! (2Q24 Update)

By Raj Saya, CA, CFA

  • In its recent result, Bandhan Bank Ltd (BANDHAN IN) did not report the kind of improvement in asset quality in its core Microfinance segment that we were hoping to see.
  • Fresh slippages into overdue accounts did not slow down as anticipated; NPA levels remained elevated; Loan growth is below the target run-rate.
  • We anticipate the recovery to be drawn out, and hence suggest keeping patience. But  we maintain our long-term valuation of Bandhan Bank unchanged at 2.1x FY25e P/BV, implying +56% upside.

Axis Bank – Loan Mix Improving Dramatically | Strong ALM | Credit Costs Likely to Narrow Sharply

By Daniel Tabbush

  • Loan mix is improving, away from non-INR loans, asset mix is improving with less RIDF bonds, and bank is seeing an expanding LDR. 
  • Loss loans and doubtful loans are in major decline, they are less important to total NPLs, and still credit costs were high in 1Q24, likely overly conservative.
  • Credit growth is now at 22.6% YoY from 14.9% YoY one year ago, with consistent acceleration. With just 6% loan share, growth can remain high.

Australia Real Estate: Long Goodman Group GMG and Short DEXUS DXS Pair Trade

By Jacob Cheng

  • In this insight, we explore the potential trade idea to Long GMG and Short DXS, among Australia REITs
  • We propose this trade on the back of long-term attractive thematic and strong fundamentals of logistics sector and continued weakness of office sector, as well as company specific drivers
  • GMG focuses on logistics and is a fund manager, and will continue to be strong. DXS is primarily driven by Sydney office market, which is facing multiple headwinds

Morning Views Asia: Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust, Vedanta Resources

By Charles Macgregor

Lucror Analytics Morning Views comprise our fundamental credit analysis, opinions and trade recommendations on high yield issuers in the region, based on key company-specific developments in the past 24 hours. Our Morning Views include a section with a brief market commentary, key market indicators and a macroeconomic and corporate event calendar.


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Daily Brief Consumer: Great Wall Motor, Oriental Land, Youngone Holdings, Alibaba Group Holding , Xinhua Winshare, Dr Ing hc F Porsche , BYD , Sitoy Group Holdings, Dongfeng Motor and more

By | Consumer, Daily Briefs

In today’s briefing:

  • Quiddity A/H Premium Tracker (To Oct20): Volatility Up Further, Wide Spreads Even Wider. Messy²
  • Oriental Land: Google Search Signals Potential Miss; Guidance Could Challenge Consensus Optimism
  • KOSPI200 Index Rebalance Preview: The Tail End
  • China Internet Weekly (23 Oct 2023): AAPL, Alibaba, JD.com
  • Quiddity HK Connect SOUTHBOUND Flows (To 20 Oct 23): Meituan, SMIC, Great Wall!
  • Xinhua Winshare (811 HK): Still the Place to Be
  • Porsche: Entering The World Of Luxury
  • Quiddity Mainland Connect NORTHBOUND Flows (To 20 Oct 2023): BYD/Changan IN But BIGLY Net Selling
  • Sitoy (1023 HK): Deep Value ~50% of Mkt in Cash, 4x PE and 12.5% Dividend Yield
  • Dongfeng Motor to Buy Assets From Stellantis JV to Consolidate Manufacturing


Quiddity A/H Premium Tracker (To Oct20): Volatility Up Further, Wide Spreads Even Wider. Messy²

By Travis Lundy

  • The Somewhat-Brand-Spanking New (10 weeks old) A-H Monitor has tables, charts, measures galore to track A/H premium positioning, southbound and northbound positioning/volatility in pairs over time, etc.
  • We used to do it. We brought it back better, with lots of cool interactive tables, and charts, heat maps, and comparative data. And 50 Trade Recommendations.
  • The last 10wks (since the start of the new Tracker and Portfolio 11 weeks ago) have seen net portfolio performance of +0.50%, +1.35%, +0.14%, +0.47%, +0.15%, +0.12%, -0.29%, -0.71%, -68%.

Oriental Land: Google Search Signals Potential Miss; Guidance Could Challenge Consensus Optimism

By Oshadhi Kumarasiri

  • During 2QFY24, Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea both saw a QoQ decline in Google search interest.
  • This suggests to us that there might be an earnings miss when Oriental Land (4661 JP) reports its FQ2 results on October 30, 2023.
  • Additionally, there are potential downside risks to both FY24 and medium-term consensus projections following a revised FY24 guidance announcement.

KOSPI200 Index Rebalance Preview: The Tail End

By Brian Freitas

  • With the review period nearly complete, we expect 7 changes to the Korea Stock Exchange KOSPI 200 (KOSPI2 INDEX) in December. Couple of changes are low probability though.
  • The Materials sector could be the biggest gainer at the rebalance while nearly all deletions could come from the Consumer Discretionary sector.
  • The impact on the potential inclusion ranges from 0.15-15 days of ADV while the impact on the potential deletions varies from 1.7-8.1 days of ADV.

China Internet Weekly (23 Oct 2023): AAPL, Alibaba, JD.com

By Ming Lu

  • Apple fired five employees of China App Store for corruption.
  • Yonghui follows Alibaba’s Freshippo outlets to open discounted stores this year.
  • JD.com sued 44 companies and 3 persons for abusing JD’s trademark.

Quiddity HK Connect SOUTHBOUND Flows (To 20 Oct 23): Meituan, SMIC, Great Wall!

By Travis Lundy

  • This is the somewhat brand-spanking-new Quiddity HK Connect SOUTHBOUND Monitor. We work off the same presentation as the A/H Premium Monitor and Mainland Connect NORTHBOUND Monitor.
  • The data on liquid names is presented for 5 days and four weeks and anything seen can be ranked in tables or selected and charted (names, sectors, outperformance, etc).
  • We like the nifty interactive tables+charts (please play with them!) and we welcome feedback. This 5-day week saw HKD 3.9bn+ of net buying. That makes 13 weeks of net inflows.

Xinhua Winshare (811 HK): Still the Place to Be

By Osbert Tang, CFA

  • The recent pullback in the share price of Xinhua Winshare (811 HK) is overdone, and it is now on attractive 4.5x PER, 6.7% yield, and 0.46x P/B. 
  • It has minimal exposure to economic slowdown and global geopolitical tension. There is solid revenue growth and margin expansion in 1H23, and demand is totally domestic and resilient.
  • Net cash amounted to 109% of its share price and this has not yet included Rmb2.2bn of equity investment on hand. Still, it is expected to generate ROE of 12%.

Porsche: Entering The World Of Luxury

By Alexis Dwek

  • Porsche is one of the world’s most successful luxury automotive manufactures, specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs, and sports limousines
  • The investment case revolves around Porsche’s continued sustainable structural growth, electrification, best-in-class technology, luxury nature, and sustainability capabilities
  • The stock price is trading near its IPO price of September 2022, at a 25% discount to summer highs.

Quiddity Mainland Connect NORTHBOUND Flows (To 20 Oct 2023): BYD/Changan IN But BIGLY Net Selling

By Travis Lundy

  • This is the somewhat-brand-spanking-new Quiddity Mainland Connect NORTHBOUND Monitor. We work off the same presentation as the A/H Premium Monitor and HK Connect SOUTHBOUND Monitor.
  • The performance/spread/flow data on liquid names is presented for 5 days and 4 weeks and anything seen can be ranked in tables or selected/charted (names, sectors, outperformance, etc).
  • Please play with nifty interactive tables+charts. We welcome feedback. This 5-day week saw RMB 24bn+ of net selling. Back to Bigly Selling!

Sitoy (1023 HK): Deep Value ~50% of Mkt in Cash, 4x PE and 12.5% Dividend Yield

By Sameer Taneja

  • We examine the value proposition of Sitoy Group Holdings (1023 HK) trading at 4x PE with a 12.5 % dividend yield ( assuming a sustainable 50% payout ratio ).
  • The company has 400 mn HKD net cash and real estate worth 690 mn HKD on its balance sheet. This compares favorably with its 840 mn HKD market cap. 
  • The major drawback of investing in the company is its track record, which shows a steadily declining revenue trend and a fluctuating ROCE (currently 11%). 

Dongfeng Motor to Buy Assets From Stellantis JV to Consolidate Manufacturing

By Caixin Global

  • Dongfeng Motor Group Co. Ltd. will acquire automotive assets from its joint venture (JV) with Stellantis NV, as part of the carmaker’s strategy to consolidate its manufacturing resources amid weak car sales in China.
  • Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën Automobile Co. Ltd. (DPCA) will sell assets including certain land use rights, buildings, and structures in Wuhan and Xiangyang in Hubei province to Dongfeng Motor in a 1.71 billion yuan ($234 million) deal, the latter said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Thursday.
  • The assets have been used by DPCA mainly to produce its existing Peugeot, Citroën and Fukang models, the filing said, and the JV will continue making the cars under a 10-year leasing agreement.

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Daily Brief ESG: Companies with over 50% Independent Directors Have High Profitability and Stock Valuations and more

By | Daily Briefs, ESG

In today’s briefing:

  • Companies with over 50% Independent Directors Have High Profitability and Stock Valuations


Companies with over 50% Independent Directors Have High Profitability and Stock Valuations

By Aki Matsumoto

  • While the number of companies with majority of independent directors is still small (15.7% of the Metrical Universe as of September 2023), the number of those companies is steadily increasing.
  • The group of companies with over 50% independent director are superior in market capitalization, ratio of foreign shareholders, ratio of female board members, ROE, ROA, Tobin’s Q, and Metrical Score.
  • Given that the presence of overseas investors remains high, profitability, share price valuation, and corporate governance practices such as independent director ratios will continue to improve in the future.

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Daily Brief ECM: Seoul Guarantee Insurance Corp IPO – Cancelled and more

By | Daily Briefs, ECM

In today’s briefing:

  • Seoul Guarantee Insurance Corp IPO – Cancelled
  • Kokusai Electric IPO Trading – Decent Demand, Now for the Real Test
  • Waystar IPO Preview: Debt-Fueled Expansion Through M&A Deals In A High-Interest Rate Environment
  • Which Hong Kong E-Comm Logistics IPO Is Right for You? We Compare SF Holding, J&T, and CaiNiao


Seoul Guarantee Insurance Corp IPO – Cancelled

By Douglas Kim

  • Seoul Guarantee Insurance (031210 KS) stated today that it will cancel its IPO mainly due to low demand.
  • Despite the company’s emphasis on high dividends and high ROA of 5.8% in 2022 (5x average ROA of the domestic non-life insurance companies), many institutional investors emphasized on the negatives.
  • The major negatives include high interest rates, lack of growth potential, concerns about additional shares sale overhang, and unattractive valuations. 

Kokusai Electric IPO Trading – Decent Demand, Now for the Real Test

By Sumeet Singh

  • KKR raised around US$730m via selling a stake in Kokusai Electric’s (6525 JP) (KE) Japan IPO.
  • KE main business activities consist of the manufacturing, sales and maintenance service of semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
  • In our previous notes we have looked at the company’s past performance, undertaken a peer comparison and looked at valuations. In this note, we talk about the trading dynamics.

Waystar IPO Preview: Debt-Fueled Expansion Through M&A Deals In A High-Interest Rate Environment

By Andrei Zakharov

  • Waystar Holding, a cloud-based technology company and healthcare RCM solution provider, filed for a $100M placeholder IPO.
  • Founded in 2017 through the merger of two healthcare firms, ZirMed and Navicure, Waystar Holding provides mission-critical cloud software to healthcare organizations in the United States. 
  • The company has ~$2.3B of outstanding borrowings and plans to use net proceeds from an upcoming IPO to repay outstanding indebtedness under credit facilities. 

Which Hong Kong E-Comm Logistics IPO Is Right for You? We Compare SF Holding, J&T, and CaiNiao

By Daniel Hellberg

  • Three potentially large e-comm logistics IPOs are now in-process in Hong Kong
  • We compare the three ‘by the numbers’, then examine their strengths and weaknesses
  • We conclude by providing a matrix that may help investors decide where to allocate time

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Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Nidec (6594) | Q2 Profits up 8% and more

By | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

  • Nidec (6594) | Q2 Profits up 8%
  • Ohayo Japan | Nasdaq Snaps Losing Streak; More FDI for Japan’s Chip Sector
  • Four Things to Know About Tightened U.S. Rules Over Chip Exports to China
  • US Large Banks – Weekly Balance Sheets: Decelerating Loans, Rising Cash, Big Time Deposits +109% YoY
  • Escalation of Israel-Hamas War – Here’s How Investors Should Position Themselves in Dramatic Changes
  • The Highlights – Cannabis News for the Week Ending October 20, 2023
  • Furniture/Furnishings Weekly – Weak Signals for Office Furniture
  • Weekly Sustainable Investing Surveyor – Week Ended October 20, 2023


Nidec (6594) | Q2 Profits up 8%

By Mark Chadwick

  • Nidec released its financial results for the second quarter of 2023. Sales were up 0.7% and OP up 7.6% yoy
  • We view the results as neutral for the share price 
  • The thesis for Nidec remains intact – the structural shift from oil to electricity is a key driver across all segments

Ohayo Japan | Nasdaq Snaps Losing Streak; More FDI for Japan’s Chip Sector

By Mark Chadwick

  • Overseas: SPX -0.2% , Nasdaq +0.3%; Tech stocks moved higher after bond yields retreated from highs. Several big tech companies to report this week
  • Today: NKY Futs +0.1% v cash. JPY 149.7/$; Nidec’s results were OK, but not great – ADR down -5%
  • JapanX: Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor’s investment in Japan, supported by government subsidies, aims to revive Japan’s semiconductor industry and diversify the global supply chain

Four Things to Know About Tightened U.S. Rules Over Chip Exports to China

By Caixin Global

  • The U.S. on Tuesday announced an updated set of export controls over more cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor and chip manufacturing equipment, a move aimed at closing loopholes in existing rules and further blocking China’s access to American technology.
  • The controls focus on three main areas: adjusting the parameters that identify a restricted chip, expanding the list of controlled semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and adding more Chinese firms to the “entity list”, the U.S. blacklist of restricted organizations, according to a press release by the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS).
  • The BIS said the updated rules are intended to maintain the effectiveness of the controls and prevent workaround efforts based on loopholes in the rules introduced last October.

US Large Banks – Weekly Balance Sheets: Decelerating Loans, Rising Cash, Big Time Deposits +109% YoY

By Daniel Tabbush

  • Weekly balance sheets give a view of underlying credit conditions in the US and they are not positive. Lending growth continues to decelerate and could reach negative growth soon.
  • Cash balances are rising and this suggests that US large banks are not comfortable with risk and also seeing less opportunities. Cash/loans ratio rising fastest in most recent week.
  • Large time deposits cost the most, and their growth rate is now 109% YoY in the most recent week, rising more than loans in each of the past 3 weeks.

Escalation of Israel-Hamas War – Here’s How Investors Should Position Themselves in Dramatic Changes

By Xinyao (Criss) Wang

  • The Israel-Hamas war could be presented “in a new way” or in a way that people cannot understand,which could get out-of-control since the US cannot stand idly by this time.
  • The timing of the Israel-Hamas war coincided with the turning point of Sino-US game as well as the turning point of global economic downturn – Global depression may erupt next year.
  • Crisis is a danger for the weak, but an opportunity for the strong and a gift for the prepared.We listed key points to help investors understand the logic/prepare in advance.

The Highlights – Cannabis News for the Week Ending October 20, 2023

By Water Tower Research

  • Global equities continued their decline this week, with the MSCI World Index falling 2.51% and the S&P dropping 2.39%.
  • The small-cap Russell 2000 lost 2.25%, while the NASDAQ was hit hardest at -3.16% over the last five sessions.
  • Concerns around higher interest rates and geopolitical tension led to the losses. 

Furniture/Furnishings Weekly – Weak Signals for Office Furniture

By Water Tower Research

  • The office furniture group fell 6% last week, breaking a streak of outperformance, as indicators pointed to weakness.
  • The office furniture group is up ~21% in 2023 and 32% over the past 12 months.
  • The Architectural Billings Index (ABI), a diffusion index and key leading indicator of non-residential construction activity (9-12 months), fell to 44.8 in September from 48.1 in August (AIA). 

Weekly Sustainable Investing Surveyor – Week Ended October 20, 2023

By Water Tower Research

  • The WTR Sustainable Index fell by 5.7% W/W versus the S&P 500 Index (down 2.4%), the Russell 2000 Index (down 2.3%), and the Nasdaq Index (down 2.9%).
  • Energy Technology (13.5% of the index) was down by 7.9%, while Industrial Climate and Ag Technology (49.5% of the index) was down 3.4%, ClimateTech Mining was down 5.2%, and Advanced Transportation Solutions was down 8.6%.
  • Top 10 Performers: NXH, NMG, WWR, NGPHF, ELBM, VIHD, MGPHF, GRB, TGEN, VGAS

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Daily Brief Credit: JSW Steel – Earnings Flash – Q2 FY 2023-24 Results – Lucror Analytics and more

By | Credit, Daily Briefs

In today’s briefing:

  • JSW Steel – Earnings Flash – Q2 FY 2023-24 Results – Lucror Analytics
  • Morning Views Asia: Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust, Vedanta Resources


JSW Steel – Earnings Flash – Q2 FY 2023-24 Results – Lucror Analytics

By Trung Nguyen

JSW Steel has delivered strong Q2/23-24 results in our view, driven by higher volumes and a recovery in steel prices. The numbers were in line with management’s earlier guidance for an improvement in operating environment and steel prices. The financial risk profile is improving, and liquidity is adequate.

Steel prices remained the key credit driver. A small price increase has resulted in a significant EBITDA increment, due to the high operating leverage. Based on management’s guidance for an improvement in the operating environment and steel prices, we expect better H2/23-24 numbers, with revenues inching up and a larger earnings improvement. Debt will likely remain stable following the merger with JISPL (completed in Q2), and the leverage profile should continue improving on the back of higher earnings.


Morning Views Asia: Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust, Vedanta Resources

By Charles Macgregor

Lucror Analytics Morning Views comprise our fundamental credit analysis, opinions and trade recommendations on high yield issuers in the region, based on key company-specific developments in the past 24 hours. Our Morning Views include a section with a brief market commentary, key market indicators and a macroeconomic and corporate event calendar.


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Daily Brief Event-Driven: Newcrest/Newmont Conclusion Nearing – Flowfront & Gold Price and more

By | Daily Briefs, Event-Driven

In today’s briefing:

  • Newcrest/Newmont Conclusion Nearing – Flowfront & Gold Price
  • Celltrion Merger Swap Event: Trading Dynamics Post-Merger Approval
  • Quiddity A/H Premium Tracker (To Oct20): Volatility Up Further, Wide Spreads Even Wider. Messy²
  • Merger Arb Mondays (23 Oct) – Eoflow, Celltrion Healthcare, JSR, Origin, Lithium Power, Poly Culture
  • KOSDAQ150 Index Rebalance Preview: Big Sell Off Among Potential Inclusions as Momentum Fades
  • KOSPI200 Index Rebalance Preview: The Tail End
  • Understanding Kakao Bank’s Overhang Risk from Legal Consequences for Kakao Corp
  • EQD | Nikkei 225 MONTHLY Rally May Be Finally Coming
  • Quiddity HK Connect SOUTHBOUND Flows (To 20 Oct 23): Meituan, SMIC, Great Wall!
  • Quiddity Mainland Connect NORTHBOUND Flows (To 20 Oct 2023): BYD/Changan IN But BIGLY Net Selling


Newcrest/Newmont Conclusion Nearing – Flowfront & Gold Price

By Travis Lundy


Celltrion Merger Swap Event: Trading Dynamics Post-Merger Approval

By Sanghyun Park

  • Celltrion Chairman Seo made a public statement, affirming that they are prepared to bear the entire cost, even if it exceeds the ₩1T ceiling, and proceed with the merger. 
  • The relatively substantial cost risk associated with Celltrion Inc. due to the involvement of NPS is causing the merger swap spread to widen once more in comparison to Celltrion Healthcare.
  • If the prices persist above the appraisal rights exercise prices, the relative cost risk for Celltrion Inc. could escalate, leading to a significant widening of the swap spread.

Quiddity A/H Premium Tracker (To Oct20): Volatility Up Further, Wide Spreads Even Wider. Messy²

By Travis Lundy

  • The Somewhat-Brand-Spanking New (10 weeks old) A-H Monitor has tables, charts, measures galore to track A/H premium positioning, southbound and northbound positioning/volatility in pairs over time, etc.
  • We used to do it. We brought it back better, with lots of cool interactive tables, and charts, heat maps, and comparative data. And 50 Trade Recommendations.
  • The last 10wks (since the start of the new Tracker and Portfolio 11 weeks ago) have seen net portfolio performance of +0.50%, +1.35%, +0.14%, +0.47%, +0.15%, +0.12%, -0.29%, -0.71%, -68%.


KOSDAQ150 Index Rebalance Preview: Big Sell Off Among Potential Inclusions as Momentum Fades

By Brian Freitas

  • With the review period nearly complete, we see 15 potential changes for the KOSDAQ 150 Index (KOSDQ150 INDEX) at the December rebalance.
  • There could be index changes even before the December rebalance if there are prolonged trading suspensions and stocks migrate from the KOSDAQ Market to the KOSPI Market.
  • The potential adds have sold off hard over the last six weeks, similar to the performance at the June rebalance.

KOSPI200 Index Rebalance Preview: The Tail End

By Brian Freitas

  • With the review period nearly complete, we expect 7 changes to the Korea Stock Exchange KOSPI 200 (KOSPI2 INDEX) in December. Couple of changes are low probability though.
  • The Materials sector could be the biggest gainer at the rebalance while nearly all deletions could come from the Consumer Discretionary sector.
  • The impact on the potential inclusion ranges from 0.15-15 days of ADV while the impact on the potential deletions varies from 1.7-8.1 days of ADV.

Understanding Kakao Bank’s Overhang Risk from Legal Consequences for Kakao Corp

By Sanghyun Park

  • Financial regulators will likely mandate Kakao Corp to divest all but 10% of its stake in Kakao Bank. The deadline is six months from the date of the order.
  • If this issue is resolved through the forced sale of the stake, it is anticipated that this stake volume will eventually be released into the market through block deals.
  • Kakao may proactively divest its Kakao Bank stake to transfer the majority shareholder position to KIS, regardless of the judicial outcome.

EQD | Nikkei 225 MONTHLY Rally May Be Finally Coming

By Nico Rosti

  • The Nikkei 225 (NKY) INDEX closed last week down at 31259.36. It’s currently trading between the Q2 and Q3 WEEKLY support levels and down for 4 months, so it’s OVERSOLD.
  • The index could reverse this week, or fall more into the end of October, but if this week closes down, the odds are very good for a rally in November.
  • Consider going LONG between here and supports in the 30600-30400 price area, a MONTHLY reversal could last at least 2-4 weeks (a month).

Quiddity HK Connect SOUTHBOUND Flows (To 20 Oct 23): Meituan, SMIC, Great Wall!

By Travis Lundy

  • This is the somewhat brand-spanking-new Quiddity HK Connect SOUTHBOUND Monitor. We work off the same presentation as the A/H Premium Monitor and Mainland Connect NORTHBOUND Monitor.
  • The data on liquid names is presented for 5 days and four weeks and anything seen can be ranked in tables or selected and charted (names, sectors, outperformance, etc).
  • We like the nifty interactive tables+charts (please play with them!) and we welcome feedback. This 5-day week saw HKD 3.9bn+ of net buying. That makes 13 weeks of net inflows.

Quiddity Mainland Connect NORTHBOUND Flows (To 20 Oct 2023): BYD/Changan IN But BIGLY Net Selling

By Travis Lundy

  • This is the somewhat-brand-spanking-new Quiddity Mainland Connect NORTHBOUND Monitor. We work off the same presentation as the A/H Premium Monitor and HK Connect SOUTHBOUND Monitor.
  • The performance/spread/flow data on liquid names is presented for 5 days and 4 weeks and anything seen can be ranked in tables or selected/charted (names, sectors, outperformance, etc).
  • Please play with nifty interactive tables+charts. We welcome feedback. This 5-day week saw RMB 24bn+ of net selling. Back to Bigly Selling!

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Daily Brief Equity Bottom-Up: Oriental Land: Google Search Signals Potential Miss; Guidance Could Challenge Consensus Optimism and more

By | Daily Briefs, Equity Bottom-Up

In today’s briefing:

  • Oriental Land: Google Search Signals Potential Miss; Guidance Could Challenge Consensus Optimism
  • China Internet Weekly (23 Oct 2023): AAPL, Alibaba, JD.com
  • Bandhan Bank: Not Yet, Not Yet! (2Q24 Update)
  • Xinhua Winshare (811 HK): Still the Place to Be
  • LRCX. China, DRAM Tailwinds Driving Modest Recovery
  • Axis Bank – Loan Mix Improving Dramatically | Strong ALM | Credit Costs Likely to Narrow Sharply
  • Australia Real Estate: Long Goodman Group GMG and Short DEXUS DXS Pair Trade
  • Porsche: Entering The World Of Luxury
  • Intuitive Surgical (ISRG US): Mixed Q3 Result; Encouraging Procedure Growth Is the Key Positive
  • Sitoy (1023 HK): Deep Value ~50% of Mkt in Cash, 4x PE and 12.5% Dividend Yield


Oriental Land: Google Search Signals Potential Miss; Guidance Could Challenge Consensus Optimism

By Oshadhi Kumarasiri

  • During 2QFY24, Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea both saw a QoQ decline in Google search interest.
  • This suggests to us that there might be an earnings miss when Oriental Land (4661 JP) reports its FQ2 results on October 30, 2023.
  • Additionally, there are potential downside risks to both FY24 and medium-term consensus projections following a revised FY24 guidance announcement.

China Internet Weekly (23 Oct 2023): AAPL, Alibaba, JD.com

By Ming Lu

  • Apple fired five employees of China App Store for corruption.
  • Yonghui follows Alibaba’s Freshippo outlets to open discounted stores this year.
  • JD.com sued 44 companies and 3 persons for abusing JD’s trademark.

Bandhan Bank: Not Yet, Not Yet! (2Q24 Update)

By Raj Saya, CA, CFA

  • In its recent result, Bandhan Bank Ltd (BANDHAN IN) did not report the kind of improvement in asset quality in its core Microfinance segment that we were hoping to see.
  • Fresh slippages into overdue accounts did not slow down as anticipated; NPA levels remained elevated; Loan growth is below the target run-rate.
  • We anticipate the recovery to be drawn out, and hence suggest keeping patience. But  we maintain our long-term valuation of Bandhan Bank unchanged at 2.1x FY25e P/BV, implying +56% upside.

Xinhua Winshare (811 HK): Still the Place to Be

By Osbert Tang, CFA

  • The recent pullback in the share price of Xinhua Winshare (811 HK) is overdone, and it is now on attractive 4.5x PER, 6.7% yield, and 0.46x P/B. 
  • It has minimal exposure to economic slowdown and global geopolitical tension. There is solid revenue growth and margin expansion in 1H23, and demand is totally domestic and resilient.
  • Net cash amounted to 109% of its share price and this has not yet included Rmb2.2bn of equity investment on hand. Still, it is expected to generate ROE of 12%.

LRCX. China, DRAM Tailwinds Driving Modest Recovery

By William Keating

  • Q323 revenues of $3.48 billion, ahead of guidance and up 8.6% sequentially
  • December quarter guidance of $3.7 billion at the midpoint suggests ongoing recovery
  • However, still-declining services revenue indicates that all other headwinds remain in place

Axis Bank – Loan Mix Improving Dramatically | Strong ALM | Credit Costs Likely to Narrow Sharply

By Daniel Tabbush

  • Loan mix is improving, away from non-INR loans, asset mix is improving with less RIDF bonds, and bank is seeing an expanding LDR. 
  • Loss loans and doubtful loans are in major decline, they are less important to total NPLs, and still credit costs were high in 1Q24, likely overly conservative.
  • Credit growth is now at 22.6% YoY from 14.9% YoY one year ago, with consistent acceleration. With just 6% loan share, growth can remain high.

Australia Real Estate: Long Goodman Group GMG and Short DEXUS DXS Pair Trade

By Jacob Cheng

  • In this insight, we explore the potential trade idea to Long GMG and Short DXS, among Australia REITs
  • We propose this trade on the back of long-term attractive thematic and strong fundamentals of logistics sector and continued weakness of office sector, as well as company specific drivers
  • GMG focuses on logistics and is a fund manager, and will continue to be strong. DXS is primarily driven by Sydney office market, which is facing multiple headwinds

Porsche: Entering The World Of Luxury

By Alexis Dwek

  • Porsche is one of the world’s most successful luxury automotive manufactures, specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs, and sports limousines
  • The investment case revolves around Porsche’s continued sustainable structural growth, electrification, best-in-class technology, luxury nature, and sustainability capabilities
  • The stock price is trading near its IPO price of September 2022, at a 25% discount to summer highs.

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG US): Mixed Q3 Result; Encouraging Procedure Growth Is the Key Positive

By Tina Banerjee

  • In 3Q23, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG US) recorded 12% YoY revenue growth to $1.74B, driven by growth in da Vinci procedure volume and an increase in the installed base of systems.
  • 3Q23 procedure growth was 19%, versus 20% in 3Q22 and 22% in 2Q23. Systems revenue declined 11%, due to higher number of systems placed under lease and lower China demand.
  • The company now expects 2023 procedure volume growth of 21–22%, up from previous estimates of 20–22%. Significant material supply chain disruptions or hospital capacity constraints are not expected.

Sitoy (1023 HK): Deep Value ~50% of Mkt in Cash, 4x PE and 12.5% Dividend Yield

By Sameer Taneja

  • We examine the value proposition of Sitoy Group Holdings (1023 HK) trading at 4x PE with a 12.5 % dividend yield ( assuming a sustainable 50% payout ratio ).
  • The company has 400 mn HKD net cash and real estate worth 690 mn HKD on its balance sheet. This compares favorably with its 840 mn HKD market cap. 
  • The major drawback of investing in the company is its track record, which shows a steadily declining revenue trend and a fluctuating ROCE (currently 11%). 

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Daily Brief Macro: Steno Signals #70 – 10 charts you NEED to monitor in global macro and more

By | Daily Briefs, Macro

In today’s briefing:

  • Steno Signals #70 – 10 charts you NEED to monitor in global macro
  • Stocks Want to Go to the Party, But Bonds Don’t Want to Get in the Car
  • The Week That Was in ASEAN@Smartkarma – Solid BCA, Medikaloka Hermina, and The Keepers Season
  • Ready to Get Spooked? Properly Comparing Real Yields and P/E Ratios = Massive Downside for Equities!
  • Asia Economics: China’s Slowdown and Its Challenges and Opportunities for Asia
  • Malaysia Economics: 2024 Budget Begins Long Journey of Fiscal Consolidation


Steno Signals #70 – 10 charts you NEED to monitor in global macro

By Andreas Steno

  • The world of Macro never fails at keeping us busy and this week I reveal the 10 charts that I currently monitor daily to keep myself up to speed on allocations amidst this turbulence. Enjoy (the ride)!

    It’s been evident for a while that the diversification effects from US Treasuries are weak and we are now approaching a record high correlation between Equity and Bond returns.
  • If you haven’t already altered your portfolio composition, it is already overdue as the 60/40 portfolio seems structurally challenged.

Stocks Want to Go to the Party, But Bonds Don’t Want to Get in the Car

By Cam Hui

  • Surging yields have not only cratered bond prices, but also created severe valuation headwinds for stock prices.
  • A fundamental and technical review of the U.S. Treasury market shows that bond prices are poised for a rally.
  • The fundamental and technical picture for U.S. equities is even brighter as fundamental momentum and oversold conditions point to a strong rebound.

The Week That Was in ASEAN@Smartkarma – Solid BCA, Medikaloka Hermina, and The Keepers Season

By Angus Mackintosh


Ready to Get Spooked? Properly Comparing Real Yields and P/E Ratios = Massive Downside for Equities!

By Jeroen Blokland

  • Comparing real yields and P/E ratios shows little relationship between the two. However, this is because this is the wrong comparison and includes the issue of regime shifts.
  • Our analysis shows that equity market valuation is extremely vulnerable to spiking real yields.
  • Based on history, the S&P 500 Index should become 25% cheaper as the colossal rise in real yield continues.

Asia Economics: China’s Slowdown and Its Challenges and Opportunities for Asia

By Manu Bhaskaran

  • Beyond the cyclical difficulties, China is likely to see a secular slowdown in growth. There will be short-term pain for the rest of Asia due to the negative spillovers. 
  • Contracting import demand in China will hurt growth and currency stability in the rest of Asia. However, there are signs of resilience despite the trade slump.  
  • The medium-to-long run implications may be more benign if other Asian economies can benefit from the restructuring of supply chains and trade linkages. 

Malaysia Economics: 2024 Budget Begins Long Journey of Fiscal Consolidation

By Manu Bhaskaran

  • The first full-year budget of Malaysian premier Anwar Ibrahim sends a signal that the government is determined to return fiscal policy towards pre-pandemic norms. 
  • A rise in the sales and services tax, new taxes on capital gains and luxury goods, and a proposed global minimum tax suggest a determination to broaden the tax base.
  • The heavy lifting in reducing expenditures comes from a reduction in the subsidy bill. Efforts to streamline electricity and diesel subsidies may just be the beginning.

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Most Read: Newcrest Mining, Persol Holdings, Kurita Water Industries, Celltrion Inc, Oriental Land, Great Wall Motor, Seoul Guarantee Insurance, Youngone Holdings, Shinsung Delta Tech and more

By | Daily Briefs, Most Read

In today’s briefing:

  • Newcrest/Newmont Conclusion Nearing – Flowfront & Gold Price
  • Japan – Increase in Shorts on Some Interesting** Stocks
  • Index Rebalance & ETF Flow Recap: NKY, ASX, Liontown, J&T Express, JP/IN Positioning, IndusInd Bank
  • Celltrion Merger Swap Event: Trading Dynamics Post-Merger Approval
  • Oriental Land: Google Search Signals Potential Miss; Guidance Could Challenge Consensus Optimism
  • Quiddity A/H Premium Tracker (To Oct20): Volatility Up Further, Wide Spreads Even Wider. Messy²
  • Seoul Guarantee Insurance Corp IPO – Cancelled
  • KOSPI200 Index Rebalance Preview: The Tail End
  • KOSDAQ150 Index Rebalance Preview: Big Sell Off Among Potential Inclusions as Momentum Fades
  • Ohayo Japan | Nasdaq Snaps Losing Streak; More FDI for Japan’s Chip Sector


Newcrest/Newmont Conclusion Nearing – Flowfront & Gold Price

By Travis Lundy


Japan – Increase in Shorts on Some Interesting** Stocks

By Brian Freitas


Index Rebalance & ETF Flow Recap: NKY, ASX, Liontown, J&T Express, JP/IN Positioning, IndusInd Bank

By Brian Freitas


Celltrion Merger Swap Event: Trading Dynamics Post-Merger Approval

By Sanghyun Park

  • Celltrion Chairman Seo made a public statement, affirming that they are prepared to bear the entire cost, even if it exceeds the ₩1T ceiling, and proceed with the merger. 
  • The relatively substantial cost risk associated with Celltrion Inc. due to the involvement of NPS is causing the merger swap spread to widen once more in comparison to Celltrion Healthcare.
  • If the prices persist above the appraisal rights exercise prices, the relative cost risk for Celltrion Inc. could escalate, leading to a significant widening of the swap spread.

Oriental Land: Google Search Signals Potential Miss; Guidance Could Challenge Consensus Optimism

By Oshadhi Kumarasiri

  • During 2QFY24, Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea both saw a QoQ decline in Google search interest.
  • This suggests to us that there might be an earnings miss when Oriental Land (4661 JP) reports its FQ2 results on October 30, 2023.
  • Additionally, there are potential downside risks to both FY24 and medium-term consensus projections following a revised FY24 guidance announcement.

Quiddity A/H Premium Tracker (To Oct20): Volatility Up Further, Wide Spreads Even Wider. Messy²

By Travis Lundy

  • The Somewhat-Brand-Spanking New (10 weeks old) A-H Monitor has tables, charts, measures galore to track A/H premium positioning, southbound and northbound positioning/volatility in pairs over time, etc.
  • We used to do it. We brought it back better, with lots of cool interactive tables, and charts, heat maps, and comparative data. And 50 Trade Recommendations.
  • The last 10wks (since the start of the new Tracker and Portfolio 11 weeks ago) have seen net portfolio performance of +0.50%, +1.35%, +0.14%, +0.47%, +0.15%, +0.12%, -0.29%, -0.71%, -68%.

Seoul Guarantee Insurance Corp IPO – Cancelled

By Douglas Kim

  • Seoul Guarantee Insurance (031210 KS) stated today that it will cancel its IPO mainly due to low demand.
  • Despite the company’s emphasis on high dividends and high ROA of 5.8% in 2022 (5x average ROA of the domestic non-life insurance companies), many institutional investors emphasized on the negatives.
  • The major negatives include high interest rates, lack of growth potential, concerns about additional shares sale overhang, and unattractive valuations. 

KOSPI200 Index Rebalance Preview: The Tail End

By Brian Freitas

  • With the review period nearly complete, we expect 7 changes to the Korea Stock Exchange KOSPI 200 (KOSPI2 INDEX) in December. Couple of changes are low probability though.
  • The Materials sector could be the biggest gainer at the rebalance while nearly all deletions could come from the Consumer Discretionary sector.
  • The impact on the potential inclusion ranges from 0.15-15 days of ADV while the impact on the potential deletions varies from 1.7-8.1 days of ADV.

KOSDAQ150 Index Rebalance Preview: Big Sell Off Among Potential Inclusions as Momentum Fades

By Brian Freitas

  • With the review period nearly complete, we see 15 potential changes for the KOSDAQ 150 Index (KOSDQ150 INDEX) at the December rebalance.
  • There could be index changes even before the December rebalance if there are prolonged trading suspensions and stocks migrate from the KOSDAQ Market to the KOSPI Market.
  • The potential adds have sold off hard over the last six weeks, similar to the performance at the June rebalance.

Ohayo Japan | Nasdaq Snaps Losing Streak; More FDI for Japan’s Chip Sector

By Mark Chadwick

  • Overseas: SPX -0.2% , Nasdaq +0.3%; Tech stocks moved higher after bond yields retreated from highs. Several big tech companies to report this week
  • Today: NKY Futs +0.1% v cash. JPY 149.7/$; Nidec’s results were OK, but not great – ADR down -5%
  • JapanX: Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor’s investment in Japan, supported by government subsidies, aims to revive Japan’s semiconductor industry and diversify the global supply chain

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