Smartkarma Daily Briefs

PT Trimegah Bangun Persada Tbk (Harita Nickel) (2230010D IJ), an Indonesian nickel play, has launched an IDX IPO to raise US$650 million. Book building ends on 21 March.
Harita is expected to become Indonesia’s largest pure nickel producer based on volume expectations of Harita’s nickel mining production in 2022.
The key elements of the bull case rest on good underlying revenue growth, near-term capacity expansion, high profitability, capex nearing the peak and manageable leverage.

Auto Dealer Financing Startup Broom Bags US$10M to Diversify Product Offerings

By e27

Broom, an all-in-one automotive SME solutions startup in Indonesia, has secured US$10 million in a pre-Series A funding round
Jakarta-headquartered Broom will use the money to diversify its product offerings and further accelerate dealer inventory turnover.
Established in 2021, Broom provides an end-to-end financial solution for auto dealer inventories.

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Mar 17

Daily Brief Singapore: Green Li-ion Pte Ltd, Intellect Co Pte Ltd and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Singapore

In today’s briefing:

Battery Recycling Startup Green Li-Ion Secures US$20.5M Pre-Series B Funding
Intellect Seals Strategic Investment with IHH Healthcare

Battery Recycling Startup Green Li-Ion Secures US$20.5M Pre-Series B Funding

By e27

Green Li-ion, a lithium-ion battery recycling technology company based in Singapore, has raised US$20.5 million in pre-Series B funding.
Green Li-ion has developed a novel technology that processes 100 per cent of all used lithium batteries.
It recycles and reuses all metals to directly re-manufacture battery-grade cathode material ready for reuse in new batteries.

Intellect Seals Strategic Investment with IHH Healthcare

By Shifara Samsudeen, ACMA, CGMA

Intellect, a mental health startup based in Singapore, has raised a strategic funding round from IHH Healthcare.
As part of this round, IHH will work with Intellect to develop digital mental health programs for the group’s patients, corporate clients, and staff.
Intellect says it has already started rolling out services to Gleneagles Hospital Singapore, which is part of IHH’s network of 82 hospitals in 10 countries.

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Mar 17

Daily Brief South Korea: Cosmo AM&T and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

Cosmo AM&T: Strong Momentum from Likely Inclusion in MSCI Korea Standard in 2023

Cosmo AM&T: Strong Momentum from Likely Inclusion in MSCI Korea Standard in 2023

By Douglas Kim

We provide a fundamental analysis of Cosmo AM&T (005070 KS) (Cosmo Advanced Materials & Technology), which is increasingly likely to become included in MSCI Korea Standard index in 2023.
Cosmo AM&T is a borderline inclusion candidate for MSCI Korea Standard in May 2023. If it does not get included in May, it could get included in 2H 2023.
All in all, the increasing possibility of MSCI Korea Standard inclusion combined with strong sales and profit momentum could result in a further positive momentum on its share price.

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Mar 17

Daily Brief China: DPC Dash, Tencent, AAC Technologies Holdings, AviChina Industry & Technology H, LONGi Green Energy Technology, Giant Biogene Holding, Akeso Biopharma Inc and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | China, Daily Briefs

In today’s briefing:

DPC Dash IPO – Might Be Worth a Small Slice
Tencent (700 HK) Earnings Preview: To Stop Decrease in 4Q22 and to Recover in 2023
Quiddity Flow Expectations HSTECH Jun 23: New Oriental Education IN; AAC Technologies OUT
DPC Dash IPO Valuation: Looks Expensive Cf. Yum China & Dominos Master Franchisees in Other Regions
AviChina Industry (2357 HK): Still Well-Placed as Our High Conviction
LONGi Green Energy to Build $600 Million Solar Panel Plant in U.S.
Giant Biogene Holding (2367.HK) – The Situation May Not Be as Rosy as It Looks
[Akeso Inc. (9926 HK) Target Price Change]: A Mini-BeiGene in the Making…Reiterate BUY

DPC Dash IPO – Might Be Worth a Small Slice

By Sumeet Singh

DPC Dash (1405 HK) is now looking to raise up to US$90m, after having shelved its last attempt to raise around US$75m in its Hong Kong IPO in December.
The company is the exclusive master franchisee for Domino’s Pizza in China, HK and Macau. DPC operated 604 stores across 17 cities, as of Feb 2023.
In this note, we run the deal through our ECM framework and talk about valuations.

Tencent (700 HK) Earnings Preview: To Stop Decrease in 4Q22 and to Recover in 2023

By Ming Lu

We believe revenue will grow by 2.5% YoY in 4Q22 and 9% in 2023.
We believe EPS will decrease by 62% YoY in 4Q22 and increase by 16% in 2023.
We expect the stock has an upside of 42% for yearend 2023. Buy.

Quiddity Flow Expectations HSTECH Jun 23: New Oriental Education IN; AAC Technologies OUT

By Janaghan Jeyakumar, CFA

In this insight, we take a look at the potential index changes and the resultant capping flows for the HSTECH Index in June 2023.
According to our estimation, there could be one ADD/DEL for the HSTECH in June 2023 triggering total one-way index flows of US$238mn.
The final index changes along with indicative capping and index weights will be published in Mid/Late-May 2023.

DPC Dash IPO Valuation: Looks Expensive Cf. Yum China & Dominos Master Franchisees in Other Regions

By Oshadhi Kumarasiri

The exclusive master franchisee of Domino’s Pizza in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, DPC Dash’s IPO opened for subscriptions today at a price range of HK$ 46.0-55.0 per share.
The IPO valuation is not particularly enticing to lure us as we don’t think it’s at a sufficient discount to Yum China Holdings Inc (9987 HK)’s multiples.
DPC Dash (1405 HK) is also relatively more expensive than Domino’s Pizza (DPZ US) master franchisees in other regions.

AviChina Industry (2357 HK): Still Well-Placed as Our High Conviction

By Osbert Tang, CFA

The slight dip in FY22 earnings for AviChina Industry & Technology H (2357 HK) is due to product restructuring at Avicopter (600038 CH) and higher impairment/fair value losses.
It should return to growth track in the next two years, with rise in product demand, recovery in Avicopter, further restructuring and M&As being major drivers.
Share price has increased 15.9% YTD but it is just on 9.2x FY23 PER. Its market cap is at 58.5% discount to holdings in its four listed A-share subsidiaries.

LONGi Green Energy to Build $600 Million Solar Panel Plant in U.S.

By Caixin Global

Chinese solar wafer giant LONGi Green Energy Technology Co. Ltd. will partner with U.S. solar developer Invenergy to build a $600 million, 5-gigawatt solar panel assembly factory in Ohio
The project will be LONGi’s first entrance into the U.S. manufacturing market.
What will eventually be the largest crystalline silicon solar panel factory in the U.S. will create 850 jobs, and operations are expected to start by the end of 2023

Giant Biogene Holding (2367.HK) – The Situation May Not Be as Rosy as It Looks

By Xinyao (Criss) Wang

Giant Biogene has been added to Hong Kong Stock Connect.There’s also positive sentiment driven by the consumption recovery after China reopens. But the Company is overvalued if compared with peers.
The subsequent product pipeline progress is relatively slow, with a gap of nearly two years in the middle. So, Giant Biogene’s stock price performance may be relatively weak after 2024.
Due to various restrictions, the actual market space of collagen in the future may not be as large as expected. This is a point investors need to be aware of.

[Akeso Inc. (9926 HK) Target Price Change]: A Mini-BeiGene in the Making…Reiterate BUY

By Shawn Yang

Akeso reported C2H22 total sales, net revenue 41% and 67% above our estimates. Non-IFRS operating loss, however, was in-line with our estimate, thanks to higher OPEX;
Given Summit’s US$500mn upfront and up to US$5bn upfront payment for Ivonescimab (PD-1/VEGF) (AK112), we now forecast Akeso to achieve non-IFRS breakeven in C1H23 and all subsequent years;
We raise TP by 18% to HK$59 and maintain BUY.

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Mar 17

Daily Brief Thailand: Berli Jucker and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thailand

In today’s briefing:

Berli Jucker (BJC TB) – A Retail and Packaging Fuelled Growth Story

Berli Jucker (BJC TB) – A Retail and Packaging Fuelled Growth Story

By Angus Mackintosh

Berli Jucker (BJC TB) released a strong set of 4Q2022 numbers reflecting the benefit of increasing tourism numbers in Thailand significantly positively impacting 25 of its stores.
The company strategically reduced its B2B business, whilst growing its Don Chai stores quite aggressively. Berli Jucker plans to increase its store numbers further in 2023.
Berli Jucker‘s packaging supply chain business will see new aluminium can capacity this year in Thailand and should see a 2H2023 growth pick-up. Overall a more positive outlook for 2023.

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Mar 17

Daily Brief United States: Yum China Holdings, Inc, ZKH Group, OpenAI, AEye, USD Coin, Soluna Holdings, Ocean Power Technologies, SES AI Corp and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, United States

In today’s briefing:

Quiddity Flow Expectations HSCEI Jun 23: 2 ADDs/DELs Possible; Capping Flows US$585mn One-Way
ZKH IPO: Neither Good nor Bad
Fresh Safety Concerns Follow OpenAI’s GPT-4 Release
New CEO Looking to Leverage Continental and Other Partners for 4Sight Rollouts
USDC’s Depeg Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Trust the Bots
Dorothy Energization Scheduled; Financing Secured; Company at an Inflection Point
3Q23 Results: Revenue Grows 51.7% Y/Y as Order Activity and Gross Margin Shoot Up
4Q22 Results: B-Sample Transition Inches Closer; Expansion in the Cards

Quiddity Flow Expectations HSCEI Jun 23: 2 ADDs/DELs Possible; Capping Flows US$585mn One-Way

By Janaghan Jeyakumar, CFA

In this insight, we take a look at the potential index changes and the resultant capping flows for the HSCEI Index in June 2023.
According to our estimation, there could be two changes for the HSCEI in June 2023 and there could be one-way index flows of US$585mn.
The final index changes along with indicative capping and index weights could be published in Mid/Late-May 2023.

ZKH IPO: Neither Good nor Bad

ZKH Group (ZKH US) is a leading MRO procurement service platform in China offering digital and fulfilment solutions for participants in the industry value chain.
The company has filed for an IPO to list its shares in the US and plans to raise about US$200-300m through the IPO.
Having analyzed the limited information available, we are indifferent on ZKH’s operating performance and would only recommend if shares are priced attractively

Fresh Safety Concerns Follow OpenAI’s GPT-4 Release

ChatGPT-4 is here and OpenAI is betting that it’s the smartest version so far.
GPT-4 has a broader general knowledge and problem solving abilities, the company said in a research paper that was released alongside the chatbot.
The paper showed that the latest model beat 90% of bar exam takers.

New CEO Looking to Leverage Continental and Other Partners for 4Sight Rollouts

CEO Matt Fisch’s first earnings call announced revenue of $1.1 million in 4Q22, in line with quarterly expectations.
CFO Bob Brown announced that he is leaving the company effective March 31.
Fisch said the company is “in the process of developing a strategic plan and timeline that builds on [our] significant achievements made to date.”

USDC’s Depeg Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Trust the Bots

By Kaiko

While the market seems to have shrugged it off, crypto – and DeFi in particular – survived an existential risk over the weekend.
USDC was caught up in the turmoil that hit U.S. banks and depegged amidst fears it was no longer fully backed.
We covered the reaction in centralized markets in the week’s Debrief, but given that USDC’s primary use case is in DeFi, this week we’ll examine how the depegging played out on-chain, examining trading, liquidity, and lending and borrowing, with a particular focus on the role that bots played.

Dorothy Energization Scheduled; Financing Secured; Company at an Inflection Point

Final funding for Project Dorothy is now secured, with energization scheduled for the first week of April, pending approval from ERCOT.
Soluna recently announced $7.5 million in funding from existing project investor Spring Lane Capital (SLC) that will be used to complete the final energization of Dorothy and support corporate expenses.
SLC’s stake in the 25 MW Dorothy 1A increases to ~85% from 32%, but Soluna retains the right to 50% of 1A’s profits after SLC achieves an 18% IRR hurdle.

3Q23 Results: Revenue Grows 51.7% Y/Y as Order Activity and Gross Margin Shoot Up

Revenue grew 51.7% Y/Y to $0.7 million, compared with $0.5 million in 3Q22.
Growth in the top-line figure was primarily driven by sales of WAM-V autonomous vehicles and better margins derived from Strategic Consulting Services.
A key driver of the revenue trajectory is the order activity, which is up 111% to $3.8 million YTD, with significant additional order activity in various stages of negotiation.

4Q22 Results: B-Sample Transition Inches Closer; Expansion in the Cards

SES reported an operating loss of $20.7 million, $10.6 million higher than in 4Q21, primarily due to increased personnel and lab consumables to support the development of battery cells and AI software.
General and administrative costs ($12.5 million) and R&D costs ($8.3 million) were the primary contributors to the operating loss.
The company’s net loss was $9.2 million (-$0.03 per share) compared with $10.2 million (-$0.17 per share) in 4Q21.

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Mar 17

Daily Brief Japan: Trial Holdings, Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Japan

In today’s briefing:

Trial Holdings IPO: Valuation Insights
Iwataya Opens Lounge S – A New Space for the Truly Wealthy

Trial Holdings IPO: Valuation Insights

Trial Holdings (5882 JP), a discount store operator in Japan, is seeking to raise US$380 million at the IPO reference price of JPY2,000. Pricing on 26 March.
We previously discussed the IPO in Trial Holdings IPO: The Bull Case and Trial Holdings IPO: The Bear Case.
In this note, we discuss valuation. Our analysis suggests that Trial is attractively valued at the IPO reference price of JPY2,000. We would participate in the IPO.

Iwataya Opens Lounge S – A New Space for the Truly Wealthy

By Michael Causton

Like all department stores, Iwataya in Fukuoka is keen to grow services for its wealthiest customers.
It already has special lounges for high spending customers and has now opened a new, invitation-only lounge for its top 300 clients, many of whom are under 40.
Capturing more share of the wealth market is the only real hope department stores have to grow.

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Mar 17

Daily Brief Private Markets: Fresh Safety Concerns Follow OpenAI’s GPT-4 Release and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Private Markets

In today’s briefing:

Fresh Safety Concerns Follow OpenAI’s GPT-4 Release
Battery Recycling Startup Green Li-Ion Secures US$20.5M Pre-Series B Funding
Intellect Seals Strategic Investment with IHH Healthcare
Auto Dealer Financing Startup Broom Bags US$10M to Diversify Product Offerings

Fresh Safety Concerns Follow OpenAI’s GPT-4 Release

ChatGPT-4 is here and OpenAI is betting that it’s the smartest version so far.
GPT-4 has a broader general knowledge and problem solving abilities, the company said in a research paper that was released alongside the chatbot.
The paper showed that the latest model beat 90% of bar exam takers.

Battery Recycling Startup Green Li-Ion Secures US$20.5M Pre-Series B Funding

By e27

Green Li-ion, a lithium-ion battery recycling technology company based in Singapore, has raised US$20.5 million in pre-Series B funding.
Green Li-ion has developed a novel technology that processes 100 per cent of all used lithium batteries.
It recycles and reuses all metals to directly re-manufacture battery-grade cathode material ready for reuse in new batteries.

Intellect Seals Strategic Investment with IHH Healthcare

Intellect, a mental health startup based in Singapore, has raised a strategic funding round from IHH Healthcare.
As part of this round, IHH will work with Intellect to develop digital mental health programs for the group’s patients, corporate clients, and staff.
Intellect says it has already started rolling out services to Gleneagles Hospital Singapore, which is part of IHH’s network of 82 hospitals in 10 countries.

Auto Dealer Financing Startup Broom Bags US$10M to Diversify Product Offerings

By e27

Broom, an all-in-one automotive SME solutions startup in Indonesia, has secured US$10 million in a pre-Series A funding round
Jakarta-headquartered Broom will use the money to diversify its product offerings and further accelerate dealer inventory turnover.
Established in 2021, Broom provides an end-to-end financial solution for auto dealer inventories.

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Mar 17

Daily Brief ECM: Harita Nickel IPO – The Negatives – Reliant on JVs and with Lygend Group. Market Is About to Shift and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, ECM

In today’s briefing:

Harita Nickel IPO – The Negatives – Reliant on JVs and with Lygend Group. Market Is About to Shift
DPC Dash IPO – Might Be Worth a Small Slice
Trial Holdings IPO: Valuation Insights
Blue Jet Healthcare Pre-IPO – Marquee Clients but Inconsistent Growth and Margins
Harita Nickel IPO: The Bull Case
DPC Dash IPO Valuation: Looks Expensive Cf. Yum China & Dominos Master Franchisees in Other Regions
Kelsian Group Placement – Yet Another Acquisition to Add to Its Arsenal
ZKH IPO: Neither Good nor Bad

Harita Nickel IPO – The Negatives – Reliant on JVs and with Lygend Group. Market Is About to Shift

By Clarence Chu

PT Trimegah Bangun Persada Tbk (Harita Nickel) (2230010D IJ) is looking to raise about US$650m in its Indonesian IPO.
PT Trimegah Bangun Persada Tbk (Harita Nickel, HN) is a vertically integrated pure-play nickel company operating on Obi Island, Indonesia.
In this note, we will talk about the not so positive aspects of the deal.

DPC Dash IPO – Might Be Worth a Small Slice

By Sumeet Singh

DPC Dash (1405 HK) is now looking to raise up to US$90m, after having shelved its last attempt to raise around US$75m in its Hong Kong IPO in December.
The company is the exclusive master franchisee for Domino’s Pizza in China, HK and Macau. DPC operated 604 stores across 17 cities, as of Feb 2023.
In this note, we run the deal through our ECM framework and talk about valuations.

Trial Holdings IPO: Valuation Insights

Trial Holdings (5882 JP), a discount store operator in Japan, is seeking to raise US$380 million at the IPO reference price of JPY2,000. Pricing on 26 March.
We previously discussed the IPO in Trial Holdings IPO: The Bull Case and Trial Holdings IPO: The Bear Case.
In this note, we discuss valuation. Our analysis suggests that Trial is attractively valued at the IPO reference price of JPY2,000. We would participate in the IPO.

Blue Jet Healthcare Pre-IPO – Marquee Clients but Inconsistent Growth and Margins

By Sumeet Singh

Blue Jet Healthcare Ltd (BJHC IN) is looking to raise about US$300m in its upcoming India IPO.
Blue Jet Healthcare (BJH) is a specialty pharmaceutical and healthcare ingredient and intermediate company, offering niche products targeted toward innovator pharmaceutical companies and multinational generic pharmaceutical companies.
In this note, we look at the company’s past performance.

Harita Nickel IPO: The Bull Case