In today’s briefing:
- Shin Kong (2888 TT)/Taishin (2887 TT) Deal Gets FSC Approval – Still A Good Swap
- Quiddity Leaderboard T50/100 Jun25: Taishin-Shin Kong Merger Could Cause Two Changes
- Japan CorpGovReports: TSE “Mgmt Conscious Blah Blah” (Apr25), 🚨 AGAIN Read TSE Update Doc 3 🚨
- [Atour Lifestyle (ATAT US, BUY, TP US$37) Review]: Higher-Quality Growth Extending into 2025
- Asia Real Estate Tracker (02-Apr-2025): Warburg Pincus buys Japan living sector.
- S&P/ASX 200 Volatility Rises: Market Down Amid US Tariffs and S&P 500 Futures Plunge
- SmartStop Self Storage (SMA): Upside Surprise, IPO Pops 8% at Open and Trades Higher
- Lucror Analytics – Morning Views Asia
- Clip Money is a rapidly growing NCR-backed start-up based in Ottawa
- MDAI: 2024 Results
Shin Kong (2888 TT)/Taishin (2887 TT) Deal Gets FSC Approval – Still A Good Swap
- Late Monday, The Financial Supervisory Commission approved the merger where Shin Kong Financial Holding (2888 TT) is to be absorbed by Taishin Financial Holding (2887 TT). Announcement here.
- Yesterday, the chairmen of both Shin Kong and Taishin decided the merger base date, which has been set a bit further out than even I expected, at 24 July 2025.
- The terms tightened yesterday. There is still a worthwhile switch to be done (or arb if you have cheap borrow), and NEWCO is cheap to peers, STILL.
Quiddity Leaderboard T50/100 Jun25: Taishin-Shin Kong Merger Could Cause Two Changes
- The T50 index represents the top 50 largest stocks by market capitalization in the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE). The T100 index represents the next 100 largest names (51-150 ranks).
- In this insight, we take a look at the potential ADDs and DELs for the June 2025 index rebal event.
- Currently, we see one change for T50 and one change for T100.
Japan CorpGovReports: TSE “Mgmt Conscious Blah Blah” (Apr25), 🚨 AGAIN Read TSE Update Doc 3 🚨
- TSE-Listed companies are asked to file “Management Conscious of Capital Cost/Stock Price” awareness reports/policies. Many have. Some are still working on it. And policies change, and CGR reports are updated.
- 611 new CGRs filed since 1-Mar-25. Our tools show every report, links to every document, and a diff file tool. Input a name, see the changes in the reports.
- The JPX was curiously quiet itself as far as I can tell. No new governance reports, documents, etc, though there is a small consultation this month on the JPXNikkei400.
[Atour Lifestyle (ATAT US, BUY, TP US$37) Review]: Higher-Quality Growth Extending into 2025
- Atour (ATAT) reported C4Q24 revenue 0.7%/5.8% higher than our estimate/consensus, which translate to 0.5%/4.7% higher in non-GAAP net income, thanks to hotel supply chain consolidation and pillow retail sales.
- Management’s guidance for a steeper-than-consensus decline in 2025’s RevPAR are conservative in our view. We see a “low-before-high” RevPAR pattern in 2025, supported by tightened hotel supply and government stimuli.
- We keep the TP at US$37/ADS and maintain as travel sector TOP BUY
Asia Real Estate Tracker (02-Apr-2025): Warburg Pincus buys Japan living sector.
- Warburg Pincus invests in Japan living sector by acquiring a 16,000-room portfolio.
- Proprium Capital beats out Ho Bee Land with a $228M bid for an Australian homebuilder.
- Hillhouse’s Rava secures majority stake in Dash Living with $150M investment; Ex-Macquarie exec Robson to advise on ESR privatization.
S&P/ASX 200 Volatility Rises: Market Down Amid US Tariffs and S&P 500 Futures Plunge
- Market Reaction: The announcement of US reciprocal tariffs led to significant declines in S&P 500 (-3.5%) and Nasdaq-100 (-4.4%) futures, with the VIX spiking from 20.00 to 23.45.
- Impact on Australia: Australia faces a 10% tariff, with the overall economic impact expected to be limited.
- S&P/ASX 200 (AS51 INDEX) Response: The S&P/ASX 200 dropped 2.1% in early trading, with its VIX index rising from 13.20 to 15.43. These are historically high but not extreme levels.
SmartStop Self Storage (SMA): Upside Surprise, IPO Pops 8% at Open and Trades Higher
- SmartStop priced a full-size deal of 27.0mm shares at $30.00 and opened for trading at $32.40 for a gain of 8% at first trade.
- The offering finished five-times oversubscribed with the underwriter stating that the deal had sizable participation from long-only and REIT-dedicated accounts.
- A low-risk storage unit company which pays a monthly dividend, like SmartStop, attracted the right buyer for this deal to work given the current economic environment.
Lucror Analytics – Morning Views Asia
- In the US, the JOLTS job openings decreased to 7.57 mn (7.66 mn e / 7.76 mn p) in February.
- The job openings rate fell slightly to 4.5% (4.6% e / 4.7% revised p), while the layoffs rate was stable at 1.1% (1.1% revised p).
- Separately, the March ISM manufacturing index declined to 49.0 (49.5 e / 50.3 p). This was driven by a drop in the new orders and employment components, while the prices paid component increased.
Clip Money is a rapidly growing NCR-backed start-up based in Ottawa
- Clip Money is a rapidly growing NCR-backed start-up based in Ottawa, Canada, and operating in Canada and the US.
- It is helping physical stores and businesses quickly, safely, and less expensively deposit cash into their bank accounts, as well as replenishing notes and coins for store operations.
- The company uses its proprietary software platform to facilitate cash management, and its network is made up of a network of DropBoxes, NCR ATMs located in retail outlets and a summer roll out at Green Dot locations.
MDAI: 2024 Results
- Spectral AI is developing an AI-guided predictive medical device that employs multispectral imaging (MSI) to estimate a wound’s capacity to heal.
- The company is pursuing indications in burn and diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) with the former receiving support from BARDA & other government agencies.
- Spectral is distinguished by its combination of MSI and AI to improve diagnoses.
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