Daily Brief Financials: Haitong Securities Co Ltd (H), Suntec REIT, Thanachart Capital, BlackRock Greater Europe Inves, Centurion Corp, Chesnara PLC and more

• The exchange ratio for the merger between Guotai Junan Securities (2611 HK) and Haitong Securities Co Ltd (H) (6837 HK) is 0.62x. 
• The merger closing is subject to several effectiveness and implementation conditions. The latest update suggests that the remaining conditions are CSRC and HKEx approvals.
• The satisfaction of the remaining conditions is a formality. At the last close and for an end February payment, the gross/annualised spread is 3.2%/26.4%. 

• Back on the 5th December, Gordan Tang (& his wife Celine) acquired a 2.14% stake in Suntec REIT (SUN SP), lifting their stake to 31.45% from 29.31%, triggering a MGO.
• This had all the hallmarks of a technical Offer. The Offer price was S$1.16/share compared to the S$1.17/share undisturbed price. The IFA opined the Offer was not fair nor reasonable. 
• The Tangs have now bumped to S$1.19/share. Terms are not final. The IFA viewpoint won’t budge. This is an opportunistic move from the Tangs. But why not roll the dice?

• The SET50 index tracks the performance of the top 50 largest and most liquid names listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET).
• In this insight, we take a look at the potential ADDs/DELs for SET 50 during the index rebal event in June 2025.
• Currently, we see one expected change, but since the market cap reference period is yet to start, the rankings can fluctuate significantly before the base date.

BlackRock Greater Europe Investment Trust (BRGE) is one of six funds in the AIC Europe sector. Co-managers Stefan Gries and Alexandra Dangoor note that although BRGE delivered a modest below-market performance over the last 12 months, the trust’s NAV total return has retained the top spot over the last decade. Despite a somewhat weak European economic backdrop and the risk of tariffs under returning US President Donald Trump, the managers are positive about the prospects for the trust’s portfolio of high-quality growth companies. They are sticking with their long-term approach, viewing themselves as investors in businesses rather than traders in shares.

• Centurion is considering an REIT IPO amidst a rebound in Singapore property trusts, indicating positive market sentiment.
• Microsoft plans to make a significant investment of $3 billion in India’s digital infrastructure, the largest commitment in Asia.
• Hong Kong is testing the market by announcing a land tender following the successful sale of an MTR plot, signaling confidence in the property sector.

• After an interval of 18 months, Chesnara announced a new acquisition just before Christmas.
• Although relatively small, it is another positive step for the company.
• The deal is a further acquisition from Canada Life UK, this time a portfolio of unit-linked bonds and legacy pension business, consisting of ca.17,000 policies and £1.5bn of AUM.