In today’s briefing:
- Samsung SDS Placement – Well Flagged and the Last One Did Well
- Marshall Wace Bets $30m in Singapore’s Thunes
- Another Block Deal Sale of Samsung SDS by the Lee Family to Pay for Inheritance Taxes
- Bukalapak (BUKA IJ) – Big on Take Rates and Execution
- SK Inc: Shares Cancellation & Updated NAV Valuation
- Taiwan Dual-Listings: ADR Premiums on the Rise; TSMC Premium Persistently Higher Lately
- [Kuaishou (1024 HK) Target Price Change]: Video Account Continues to Be the Threat
- Taiwan Tech Earnings Season Analysis: Inventory Levels Appear to Have Peaked
- Analog Devices: The Less Attention It Gets The Better
- Right-Hand Cybersecurity Raises US$5M Series A for Asia, US Expansion
Samsung SDS Placement – Well Flagged and the Last One Did Well
- Lee Seo-Hyun, via KEB Hana Bank, is looking to sell her entire stake in Samsung Sds (018260 KS) to raise US$132m.
- While a relatively large one to digest, the deal is very flagged.
- In this note, we will run the deal through our ECM framework and talk about the recent updates.
Marshall Wace Bets $30m in Singapore’s Thunes
- Thunes, a global cross-border payments firm headquartered in Singapore, has raised US$30 million from London-based hedge fund Marshall Wace, according to VentureCap Insights, which tracks regulatory filings in the city-state.
- Peter de Caluwe, CEO of Thunes, has confirmed to Tech in Asia that Marshall Wace is the new investor.
- The funding brings the company closer to becoming a billion-dollar company, with an estimated post-money valuation now pegging at US$776 million after raising about US$166 million in equity funding.
Another Block Deal Sale of Samsung SDS by the Lee Family to Pay for Inheritance Taxes
- After the market close today, Samsung Sds announced a block deal of 1.51 million shares at a discount range of 3.5% to 4.5% to the closing price of 117,900 won.
- Lee Seo-Hyun, the daughter of the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-Hee, is selling her 1.51 million shares of Samsung SDS (1.95% of oustanding shares) in a block deal.
- The company faces continued overhang on additional stake sale due to the inheritance tax issue in the next 2-3 years. As a result, we would avoid the block deal sale.
Bukalapak (BUKA IJ) – Big on Take Rates and Execution
- Bukalapak (BUKA IJ) may have disappointed some in missing on TPV but that is unimportant when it executes convincingly on improving take rates for both marketplace and its Mitra business.
- The number of Mitra Bukalapak partners has increased to over 16m, with active Mitras taking increasing services and higher take rate products from Buka’s marketplace and specialty stores.
- Bukalapak beat on revenues and adjusted EBITDA and its guidance for adjusted EBITDA-positive by 4Q2023, with continuing improvements to take rates driving improvements. Valuations are attractive at <1x FY2024E EV/Sales.
SK Inc: Shares Cancellation & Updated NAV Valuation
- On 29 March, SK Inc announced that it will cancel 0.95 million in treasury shares, which represents 1.3% of the company’s outstanding shares and 5% of treasury shares.
- One of the concerns about SK Inc in the past several weeks has been lower DPS of 5,000 won in 2022 versus DPS of 8,000 won in 2021.
- Our base case valuation of SK Inc is NAV of 19.7 trillion won (NAV per share of 266,113 won), representing a 54% upside from current levels.
Taiwan Dual-Listings: ADR Premiums on the Rise; TSMC Premium Persistently Higher Lately
- ADR premiums for dual-listed Taiwan shares have overall been on the uptrend this week, as semiconductor industy optimism in the U.S. as increased.
- TSMC’s ADR premium appears to be trading at a new higher range in the last few months.
- Other spreads have risen as well lately; it’s probably best to wait for significant reversals, which usually happen within two weeks at most.
[Kuaishou (1024 HK) Target Price Change]: Video Account Continues to Be the Threat
- Kuaishou’s 4Q22 top line beat our est. by 3.9%, and non-IFRS net income was higher than our est. by 85% due to cost-saving measures.
- We raise forecasts for its ads and eCommerce growth due to on-track macro recovery. However, we are still concerned about the intensified competition from WeChat Video Account.
- Maintain SELL for competition scenario, but slightly raise TP to HK$ 58 to reflect macro recovery. Our TP implies 2.1X PS/239X PE in 2023.
Taiwan Tech Earnings Season Analysis: Inventory Levels Appear to Have Peaked
- We review Taiwan’s recently completed earnings season for both the Semiconductor and Tech Hardware sectors.
- Companies by and large missed expectations, with the % of revenue and earnings misses substantially higher for the 4Q22 earnings season than was the case for the 3Q22 earnings season.
- High inventory levels have persisted in both Semiconductors and Hardware, however appear to have leveled off at high levels rather than having become worse.
Analog Devices: The Less Attention It Gets The Better
- Analog Devices has become one of the best-performing semiconductors stocks.
- The company’s strategy has certain weaknesses, but ADI remains among my top picks within the sector.
- ADI’s performance is not just a fluke and there are solid reasons behind it, such as high profitability, growth and competitive positioning.
Right-Hand Cybersecurity Raises US$5M Series A for Asia, US Expansion
- Singapore-based startup Right-Hand Cybersecurity has received US$5 million Series A funding from former PayPal executive Jack Selby and his venture capital firm AZ-VC.
- The startup will use the money to expand its operations across Asia and the US while investing heavily in its human risk management (HRM) platform.
- Right-Hand aims to expand its platform integrations with commonly adopted technologies to improve employee behaviours and lower risk tendencies.
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