Smartkarma Daily Briefs

• Burgan Bank is the second-largest commercial bank in Kuwait, with total assets of USD 24 billion as of December 2016, and it is the fourth largest bank in the country in terms of its locally based banking assets.
• Kuwait Projects Co. (KIPCO), a preeminent Kuwaiti investment holding company controlled by the ruling family of Kuwait, owns 64.88% of Burgan Bank and has historically been supportive.
• Thanks to its operations in Turkey, Iraq, Algeria, and Tunisia, the bank enjoys a geographically welldiversified revenue base. The Kuwaiti operations represented 59% of its revenues, while those in Turkey and Algeria accounted for 21% and 12% of revenues respectively.

Lucror Analytics Weekly Wraps provide an overview of all Morning Views comments and reports published by our analyst team in the past week, and also showcase a list of the most-read reports.

In this Insight:

1. Evergrande
2. Vedanta Resources
3. Sino-Ocean Group
4. Lippo Karawaci
5. Japfa Comfeed Indonesia

and more…

• Established in 2002 by current Chairman Hussein Sajwani based on a predecessor company founded in 1992, Damac Real Estate Development Company (Damac) is a property developer focused primarily on the high-end residential segment (apartments and villas).
• Since inception, the company has delivered approximately 17,900 units as of 31 December 2016, of which 90% were in Dubai.
• Of the company’s roughly 44,000 units currently in progress (and 62 million square feet development pipeline) and in planning stages, roughly 96% are in the UAE with the remainder in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain, Lebanon and Iraq.

• Eastman Chemical Company is a major player in the chemical industry.
• The company has been facing the adverse effect of macroeconomic volatility and its top-line performance has been below-par despite the impact of price increases.
• Baptista Research looks to evaluate the different credit strengths and credit risks of the company as well as a line-by-line analysis of the financial statements of the company for the past four years.

• MTN Group Limited (‘MTN’) is a Johannesburg (South Africa)-headquartered multinational mobile telecommunications company with a presence in 22 countries in Africa and the Middle East.
• Apart from offering traditional voice and data services MTN also provides mobile financial services, business enterprise solutions and digital services.
• MTN’s largest markets are Nigeria and South Africa which collectively contributed 63% and 68% to FY16 group revenues and EBITDA, respectively. 

• Dow Inc is a giant in the global chemicals industry and a material science leader providing customers with cutting-edge, eco-friendly packaging and infrastructure solutions.
• The company is dealing with its fair share of challenges on account of slower GDP growth, complex energy markets, and client destocking.
• The company proactively reduced operating rates to manage working capital, effectively implemented operational mitigation plans and cost-saving measures and lowered operating rates.

• Cintas Corporation is a specialized provider of uniform rental services and has a leading market position in its domain.
• The Uniform Rental and Facility Services operational segment, which is its core business, has been growing well, particularly through organic means although the company does carry out the occasional acquisition from time to time.
• Baptista Research looks to evaluate the different credit strengths and credit risks of the company as well as a line-by-line analysis of the financial statements of the company for the past four years.