
In today’s briefing:
- Kokusai Electric (6525 JP): Lock-Up Expiry, Index Deletion, Index Inclusion – It’s All Happening
- Shinko Electric (6967 JP): JIC’s Tender Offer on the Home Stretch
- Taiwan: Potential Global Index Changes; Last Review Day Today
- MicroStrategy (MSTR US): A Monetary Good Or Emperor’s New Clothes?
- TSMC Order Cut Rumors: Keep Calm and Ignore the Rumors.
- UMC (2303.TT; UMC.US): Earthquake Alters 1Q25 Outlook; 2025 Growth Expected to Low Single Digits YoY
- United Microelectronics 4Q24 Results: Intel Partnership On Track and Is A Key Model for UMC’s Future
- Omnicom and IPG Merger of $25.6B Combined Revenue: Market Reaction and Major US Index Implications
- Tech Supply Chain Tracker (22-Jan-2025): Taiwan startup wins military deal for anti-drone tech.
- Vanguard (5347.TT): 1Q25 Outlook Could See a Flat QoQ; Shipments for DDIC and PMIC Are Increasing.

Kokusai Electric (6525 JP): Lock-Up Expiry, Index Deletion, Index Inclusion – It’s All Happening
- The lock-up on KKR HKE ends next week, Kokusai Electric (6525 JP) should be deleted from a global index end-February and could be added to the NKY INDEX in March.
- There has been a buildup of shorts in Kokusai Electric (6525 JP) as the stock has underperformed the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index (SOX INDEX) by a lot.
- The global index deletion in February could provide an entry point into a long position ahead of the announcement of the Nikkei 225 (NKY INDEX) changes in March.
Shinko Electric (6967 JP): JIC’s Tender Offer on the Home Stretch
- Shinko Electric Industries (6967 JP)’s tender offer from a JIC alliance is at JPY5,920. Today’s update notes that JIC has satisfied the regulatory precondition.
- The tender offer is expected to commence in mid-February. The Board will continue to recommend it because it remains attractive.
- Deal fatigue (announced in December 2023) and Ibiden’s derating will nudge shareholders to accept. At the last close and for an end-of-March payment, the gross/annualised spread was 0.7%/3.9%.
Taiwan: Potential Global Index Changes; Last Review Day Today
- There could be 2 adds and 2 deletes for Taiwan in a global index in February. Today is the last trading day ahead of the CNY holidays.
- Passive trackers will need to trade between US$76m to US$370m of the stocks and impact will vary between 3.2x-7x ADV to trade.
- Shorts are small in the potential adds and there has been short covering recently, while there has been a big increase in shorts for one of the potential deletes.
MicroStrategy (MSTR US): A Monetary Good Or Emperor’s New Clothes?
- Microstrategy Inc Cl A (MSTR US) has a market cap of US$97.7bn, an eye-watering 115% premium to its bitcoin holding of US$45.4bn. Before taking into account debt.
- Investors are effectively dolling out $2+ for a $1 investment. And that investment is fuelled by new equity (shares are up 743% yoy) and debt. Perpetual preferred shares are next.
- Sceptics are not in short supply. But neither are backers, such as Capital (7%), Vanguard (6.9%), Susquehanna, Norges and other, arguably, sophisticated players. Right now, the backers are winning.
TSMC Order Cut Rumors: Keep Calm and Ignore the Rumors.
- News or rumors of Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom cutting down CoWoS orders at TSMC have been flying around since last week (Taiwan media, some sell-side analysts).
- TSMC guided for AI revenues doubling in 2025. Nvidia’s CEO clarified that CoWoS-S orders are declining because CoWoS-L is increasing. This transition has been known for over 1 year.
- TSMC is converting CoWoS-S to L and adding capacity in Tainan Science Park phase 2 & 3. In 2024, CoWoS-L was ~10% of CoWoS output, increasing to 50-60% in 2025.
UMC (2303.TT; UMC.US): Earthquake Alters 1Q25 Outlook; 2025 Growth Expected to Low Single Digits YoY
- Shipment: expected to decrease by mid-single-digits QoQ ASP: Remains flat in USD/NTD appreciation may lead to decline for 1Q25 sales.
- UMC’s addressable market in 2025 will grow in the low-single-digits YoY, driven by a moderate recovery in consumer applications in mature nodes.
- 1Q25 consumer will grow QoQ thanks to higher DTV, DDI, Wi-Fi, and STB demand. Other applications will decline QoQ.
United Microelectronics 4Q24 Results: Intel Partnership On Track and Is A Key Model for UMC’s Future
- UMC Misses 4Q24 Expectations — Gross Margin Dips with Flat QoQ Revenue
- UMC Guides for 40% Reduction in Capex Budget — We Believe Signals Strategic Shift to Less Capex Intensive Business Model
- Intel 12nm Partnership Remains on Track and is Key Business Model for Future; UMC Sees Improvement in Consumer Electronics Industry Inventories
Omnicom and IPG Merger of $25.6B Combined Revenue: Market Reaction and Major US Index Implications
- The merger between Omnicom Group (OMC US) and Interpublic Group Of Companies (IPG US) aims to create a marketing powerhouse with $25.6 billion in revenue and $750 million in annual synergies.
- Deal spread narrowed due to Omnicom’s price drop, signalling market caution over post-merger performance.
- The merger’s close, expected in 2025, will impact major US indices on an intra-quarter basis.
Tech Supply Chain Tracker (22-Jan-2025): Taiwan startup wins military deal for anti-drone tech.
- Taiwan startup secures military contract for anti-drone tech, expanding manufacturing in mobile sector
- Dixon sees phone sales spike, eyes display fab with India semiconductor incentive
- Samsung delays DRAM development, CG Power granted subsidy for OSAT facility, Poland faces US sanctions, Taiwan quake impacts semiconductor production, ByteDance dominates AI chatbot market, Broadcom and Marvell compete in ASIC opportunities
Vanguard (5347.TT): 1Q25 Outlook Could See a Flat QoQ; Shipments for DDIC and PMIC Are Increasing.
- Usually, the 1st quarter of each year should show a decline for foundry companies, but Vanguard Intl Semiconductor (5347 TT)‘s 1Q25 results could be relatively flat quarter-over-quarter.
- Vanguard Intl Semiconductor (5347 TT)‘s demand for Display Driver IC (DDIC) is on the rise, surpassing the growth seen in Power Management IC (PMIC).
- Despite the potential increase in shipments in 1Q25, the rise in lower-margin products, such as 8″ DDICs for large panels, is notable.