Asean-focused. Ex-Head of Thai Research

Athaporn Arayasantiparb, CFA

Athaporn served as Head of Research for UOB and ANZ in Thailand and was an award-winning telecoms analyst at UBS in 2010 (AsiaMoney Thailand category) and Regional Strategist for DMG in Singapore. Prior to that, he also served as Kasikornbank credit analyst and scholar. He has a total work experience of 22 years, of which 19 were in research and 9 in research management roles. He started his career as an engineer for PTT and currently manages family investments. He holds an MBA from Stern (NYU) and CFA Charter since 2006.

Apart from IPO Radar, which focuses on future listings, MCorp Review also performs financial advisory services for TKC Services and provides 11 other on-going thematic series ranked by frequency in descending order, namely:

1) Snippets (news-driven);
2) Sathorn Series (financial services);
3) Silicon Stories (technology); 
4) Thai-Coons (billionaire origin series);
5) Reality Check (data-driven, investigative);
6) Thai Media Spotlight;
7) Political Pit Stop; 
8) Telecom Review; 
9) Thai Macro Watch (read-through from foreign events);  
10) Small Cap Diary; and
11) Property Grid

There are also 3 limited-time series driven by specific events or locations, namely:
1) Thai Corona Crisis;
2) South Series; and
3) Mechanics and Details (deal forensics).

The Diwali Week That Was in ASEAN@Smartkarma - Indonesia's Cabinet, Keppel Corp, and Thai Telcos

Thai Strategy 2020 (Part 3): Top 10 Stock Picks

The Week That Was in ASEAN@Smartkarma - Indonesia Broadband, Singapore Banks, and Thai Stock Picks

Telecom Review (October 2019): IPhone 11 Delays and Apple Arcade

Telecom Review: A Primer on Concessions and Spectrums

Reality Check XX: How Can Streaming Outfits Benefit from the Return of Digital TV Licenses?

Thai Media Spotlight: Seven Channels Returned to NBTC

Asean (Thailand) Focused Independent Research

M Corp Review

M Corp is led by Athaporn Arayasantiparb who served as Head of Research for UOB and ANZ in Thailand and was an award-winning telecoms analyst at UBS in 2010 (AsiaMoney Thailand category) and Regional Strategist for DMG in Singapore. Prior to that, he also served as Kasikornbank credit analyst and scholar. He has a total work experience of 17 years, of which 14 were in research and 4 in research management roles. He started his career as an engineer for PTT and currently manages family investments. He holds an MBA from Stern (NYU) and CFA Charter since 2006. Apart from IPO Radar, which focuses on future listings, MCorp Review also provides six on-going thematic series ranked by frequency in descending order, namely: 1) Silicon Stories (technology) 2) Sathorn Series (financial services) 3) Thai-Coons (billionaire origin stories) 4) Reality Check (data-driven, investigative) 5) Thai Media Spotlight; and 6) Thai Macro Watch (global market drivers).

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

Thailand Wireless telecommunication services / Thematic (Sector/Industry)

The government has recently proposed that all cars in Thailand install GPS (global positioning systems) instruments. In this review, we highlight the costs and benefits of this new system to consumers and Thai telecom firms.<ul>
<li>
Benefits of this measure may include: 1) allowing the government to better monitor and manage air pollution, traffic conditions; and 2) possibly carry over to things like crime surveillance and autonomous driving.</li>
<li>
Potential costs to consumers include the one-time cost of installation and monthly fees payable to telcos, initially estimated at Bt300/month, though we believe it will be significantly lower. Not every one drives, so the analysis has to be narrowed down to the numbers of active cars in the country.</li>
<li>
Game changer for telcos. Once or if this legislation is enforced, it basically induces us to upgrade the sector from Underweight to Overweight. This adds between 23-48% of upside to Thai telcos. While DTAC is the biggest beneficiary, we still prefer True Corp since it still trades at a much lower price relative to the target price.</li>
</ul>

The government has recently proposed that all cars in Thailand install GPS (global positioning systems) instruments. In this review, we highlight the costs and benefits of this new system to consumers and Thai telecom firms.

Benefits of this measure may include: 1) allowing the government to better monitor and manage air pollution, traffic conditions; and 2) possibly carry over to things like crime surveillance and autonomous driving.

Potential costs to consumers include the one-time cost of installation and monthly fees payable to telcos, initially estimated at Bt300/month, though we believe it will be significantly lower. Not every one drives, so the analysis has to be narrowed down to the numbers of active cars in the country.

Game changer for telcos. Once or if this legislation is enforced, it basically induces us to upgrade the sector from Underweight to Overweight. This adds between 23-48% of upside to Thai telcos. While DTAC is the biggest beneficiary, we still prefer True Corp since it still trades at a much lower price relative to the target price.


Reality Check XXIII: How Does the New GPS Measures Benefit Telcos?