Daily Brief Financials: CapitaLand Ascendas REIT, SEK, Metaplanet, Samsung Life Insurance, iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond, Banco De Sabadell SA, Vista Land & Lifescapes, NU Holdings and more

• CapitaLand Ascendas REIT (CLAR SP)  is looking to raise at least S$500M in a private placement, to fund the acquisition of some valuable properties. 
• These acquisitions will expand the firm’s portfolio exposure to Singapore and data centers.
• In this note, we comment on the deal dynamics and run the deal through our ECM framework.

• Concerns about US fiscal policy have pushed term premium higher in the US, leading to a steeper yield curve globally.
• US-China tariff de-escalation and improved sentiment have reduced recession risks in the US, leading to higher GDP forecasts and reduced easing expectations from central banks.
• In Sweden, GDP forecasts have been revised higher, with a 25 basis point rate cut expected from the Riksbank in June. Opportunities in Sweden include cautious long positions in duration.

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• Metaplanet, the Tokyo-listed firm modelling itself after MicroStrategy, continues to rapidly expand its Bitcoin holdings.
• For now, equity markets are playing along. Metaplanet’s share price has surged 30% in the past week
• But with the firm trading at nearly 6x its net asset value, market enthusiasm looks stretched

• Samsung C&T must give up control of Samsung Life if it goes holdco—market expects a spin-off to form a new financial holdco to retain group structure.
• Rerating momentum is building as Samsung C&T and Life gain from governance and credibility boosts, with the BioLogics spin-off hinting at early, proactive restructuring moves by the group.
• Locals focus on Samsung C&T and Life for momentum trades, sidelining BioLogics; this trend will likely intensify post-June 3 election, shaping key market dynamics to watch.

• We believe Moody’s simply took the opportunity on the Tariff news to move USA’s rating to be in-line with those of the other two agencies.
• Though rising rates are not friendly to fixed rate bonds, we believe Asian high-yield bonds remain a good place to park capital in the near term
• We prefer short duration under 5 years to keep duration low in preparation for an upward pressure on rates in the near term.

• The BBVA-Sabadell takeover deal has been elevated to the Council of Ministers for review, making political risk central despite both EU and CNMC’s (antitrust) clearance.
• Spanish government’s minority status makes it vulnerable to Catalan pressure opposing the deal.
• Gross spread of -6.2% signals market skepticism or expectation of a sweetened offer.

• Vista Land & Lifescapes (VLL) reported FY 2024 and Q1/25 results that were moderately weak in our view.
• EBITDA continued to grow, supported by top-line and margin expansion.
• That said, cash flows remained poor, as OCF (after tax and interest) remained negative in FY 2024.

• We apply our weighted scorecard with metrics adapted for the EM neobanks; Kakaobank screens best whilst Bank Jago is the bottom marker
• Despite this, we believe that the most compelling investment ideas are in Brazilian neobanks in the form of a pairs trade, and we add qualitative factors to the investment thesis
• We recommend a long on Inter, the second best rated neobank on the scorecard, against a short on Nubank, the latter having the second worst rating on the scorecard