In today’s briefing:
- Ohayo Japan | US Stocks Trim Losses as Treasury Yields Ease
- Tencent/Netease: Two Months Without Approvals Despite Second-Highest Count Since 2022
- South Korea’s Microchip Exports Are Booming. So Why Are Foreigners Still Selling Its Stock Market?
- Sorting the Software Sector AI Exposure, Defensibility, and Where Singapore Sits
- Singapore Market Roundup (01-Oct-2026): Privium fund sees Multi-Chem’s growth via digital changes.
- The IPO Market Has Become Tougher—and the Cycle Is Still Unfolding
- Asia Real Estate Tracker (01-Oct-2026): CPPIB invests $313M in Indian hospitality after IPO delays.
Ohayo Japan | US Stocks Trim Losses as Treasury Yields Ease
- Major indexes finished higher, with the S&P 500 (+0.2%), despite weak open
- Financing arrangement between Broadcom (-2.2%) & Anthropic, which positions Anthropic to become Broadcom’s largest compute customer
- SoftBank completed its $10 billion (¥1.6 trillion) third-tranche investment in OpenAI
Tencent/Netease: Two Months Without Approvals Despite Second-Highest Count Since 2022
- China announced game approval for the September batch. The number of games approved is higher than in 2023 and 2024.
- The pace of China game approval is above its pre-tightening level of August 2020 to July 2021.
- Of the companies that we are monitoring, none got approval.
South Korea’s Microchip Exports Are Booming. So Why Are Foreigners Still Selling Its Stock Market?
- Two stocks explain the selling. Samsung and SK Hynix were 77% of September’s foreign net selling and c.93% of January–July’s. Outside them, foreigners are not leaving Korea.
- Timing and buyers matter. ₩102tn of the ₩135tn sold since May went in May–June; corporates bought ₩31.4tn in September. Buybacks are c.63% done and may finish by mid-October.
- The open question is FY27, not exports. Consensus profit sits c.24% above the Q3 run-rate. Samsung’s expected 7–8 October prelims and post-buyback flows are the next tests.
Sorting the Software Sector AI Exposure, Defensibility, and Where Singapore Sits
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The rapid development of AI technology over the past few years has posed a direct threat to the software sector, leading to a broad derating of the sector as competitive advantages are being reassessed.
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This year, the development of agentic AI has threatened various SaaS companies as the viability of their business models is put to the test.
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We find the risk is uneven. It is highest where customers pay for work AI can now do and where revenue scales with the number of people doing it.
Singapore Market Roundup (01-Oct-2026): Privium fund sees Multi-Chem’s growth via digital changes.
- Privium fund management identifies Multi-Chem’s growth from digital transformation.
- RHB maintains ‘neutral’ stance on telcos; M1 deal may reduce price erosion.
- JP Morgan: MAS EQDP fund allocation could boost SMIDs’ performance.
The IPO Market Has Become Tougher—and the Cycle Is Still Unfolding
- The IPO market can change much faster than the companies preparing to enter it.
- A business may spend months preparing financial statements, selecting underwriters, meeting investors, and building toward an expected valuation.
- During that process, the market may appear receptive.
Asia Real Estate Tracker (01-Oct-2026): CPPIB invests $313M in Indian hospitality after IPO delays.
- The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has invested $313 million in India’s hotel sector, signaling confidence in the market despite suspending IPO plans.
- Weave has successfully acquired a 108-unit apartment complex in Tokyo, showcasing the ongoing interest of Japanese investors in real estate.
- In Sydney, QIC plans to invest $418 million to expand Castle Towers Mall, while Brookfield India’s REIT has completed a $177 million office deal in Mumbai.
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