Fintech & EM-focused Analyst, KT Capital Group

Alec Tseung

Fintech & EM-focused Analyst

KT Capital Group

Principal investments and advisory firm that focuses on connecting the CIS countries with East Asia.

Principal investments and advisory firm

Equity Bottom-Up

iFast Corporation Ltd. operates a funds and investments distribution platform in the Asia Pacific region.

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://smartkarma.zoom.us/rec/share/greN_IcTNbNIKfXkLUrkLPlmSXvDzuNh6Oad7iFT39LMx6BL5WsQXTLHfLErBwPT.Xt9FLCjm5WkeCCsj" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:131779" rel="noopener">A recent Smartkarma Corporate Webinar | iFAST: Stellar Performance of Singapore's Global Fintech Player</a> introduced one of the few Fintech players in Asia that has been making profits since 2011.</li>
<li>The successful launch of its HK ePension platform can be highly scalable and is expected to be an important growth driver for the company in 2024 and 2025. </li>
<li>IFast Global Bank is expected to break even in Q4 this year and to be an important growth driver for the group's next 3-year plan (2025 and beyond). </li>
</ul>
<p><em>This Insight is part of the Smartkarma Corporate Webinar series, supported by SGX through the Investor Education Fund.</em></p>



A recent Smartkarma Corporate Webinar | iFAST: Stellar Performance of Singapore's Global Fintech Player introduced one of the few Fintech players in Asia that has been making profits since 2011.
The successful launch of its HK ePension platform can be highly scalable and is expected to be an important growth driver for the company in 2024 and 2025. 
IFast Global Bank is expected to break even in Q4 this year and to be an important growth driver for the group's next 3-year plan (2025 and beyond). 

This Insight is part of the Smartkarma Corporate Webinar series, supported by SGX through the Investor Education Fund.

IFast: A Profitable Fintech Player that Deserves More Investor Attention

Prudential Public Limited Company provides long term savings and protection products. The Company offers life and health insurance for long term business including asset management services. Prudential serves customers in Asia and Africa.

<ul>
<li>PICC P&amp;C's Q3 underwriting profitability deteriorated due to typhoon/catastrophe-related losses in both motor and non-motor business.</li>
<li>Samsung Life's new business growth momentum continued in Q3'23; new business CSM margin slightly improved QoQ.</li>
<li>Prudential disclosed limited details in its Q3 results but we can see the growth trend of new business volume and profits continuing in the quarter.</li>
</ul>


PICC P&amp;C's Q3 underwriting profitability deteriorated due to typhoon/catastrophe-related losses in both motor and non-motor business.
Samsung Life's new business growth momentum continued in Q3'23; new business CSM margin slightly improved QoQ.
Prudential disclosed limited details in its Q3 results but we can see the growth trend of new business volume and profits continuing in the quarter.


APAC Insurers Series (#4): How We See the 3 Insurance Stocks in 2024

Lifenet Insurance Company / Equity Bottom-Up

LIFENET INSURANCE COMPANY provides a wide range of life insurance products and services. The company mainly provides the products and services through the internet. The company also provides asset management services.

<ul>
<li>Oasis Management has become a major shareholder in Lifenet in November. Together with another activist investor, Effissimo Capital (the largest shareholder), they now control &gt;30% of the company.</li>
<li>Company announced some new partnerships/initiatives to drive growth but they don't seem to be materially different from what it has been doing to turn around its declining VoNB.</li>
<li>Unless we can see a sustained trend of improving VoNB, it's difficult to justify the premium valuation vs. the other more established peer.</li>
</ul>


Oasis Management has become a major shareholder in Lifenet in November. Together with another activist investor, Effissimo Capital (the largest shareholder), they now control &gt;30% of the company.
Company announced some new partnerships/initiatives to drive growth but they don't seem to be materially different from what it has been doing to turn around its declining VoNB.
Unless we can see a sustained trend of improving VoNB, it's difficult to justify the premium valuation vs. the other more established peer.


Lifenet: Oasis Management Is Now Another Major Shareholder Besides Effissimo

Japan Post Insurance Co. Ltd. operates life insurance business. The Company offers whole life insurance, education endowment, ordinary endowment, medical insurance, and special endowment insurance. Japan Post Insurance provides services for individuals and businesses throughout Japan.

<ul>
<li>Japan Post Insurance might seem undervalued based on a regression analysis, but its relatively strong RoE was due to extraordinary gains.</li>
<li>The company has a much larger portion of its investment securities being carried at cost on the balance sheet vs. its peer, Dai-ichi Life.  </li>
<li>Against the backdrop of Japan's "higher for longer" theme, its embedded value growth could be under more pressure due to ANW's m-t-m adjustments and very weak new business value.</li>
</ul>


Japan Post Insurance might seem undervalued based on a regression analysis, but its relatively strong RoE was due to extraordinary gains.
The company has a much larger portion of its investment securities being carried at cost on the balance sheet vs. its peer, Dai-ichi Life.  
Against the backdrop of Japan's "higher for longer" theme, its embedded value growth could be under more pressure due to ANW's m-t-m adjustments and very weak new business value.


Japan Post Insurance: Embedded Value Unlikely to Benefit from a Rate Increase

Prudential plc is an international company which provides a wide assortment of insurance and investment products and services. Insurance products include life, accident and health, property and casualty insurance, as well as fixed and variable annuities.  Financial and investment services include personal and group pensions, equity plans, mortgages and deposit accounts.

<ul>
<li>Pru is currently trading below its embedded value, with the valuation assigning a negative value for the group’s new business profits.</li>
<li>Given its quality franchise across all key markets in Asia and continued strong new business recovery (to pre-Covid levels), this doesn’t seem to make sense at all.</li>
<li>We would continue underwriting the investment case of Pru in the coming year, with the stock offering significant upside potential. </li>
</ul>


Pru is currently trading below its embedded value, with the valuation assigning a negative value for the group’s new business profits.
Given its quality franchise across all key markets in Asia and continued strong new business recovery (to pre-Covid levels), this doesn’t seem to make sense at all.
We would continue underwriting the investment case of Pru in the coming year, with the stock offering significant upside potential. 


2024 High Conviction: Underwriting Prudential’s Investment Case into 2024

Alec is a partner in KT Capital Group and has acted as the interim CFO for a few Fintech and Web 3 companies.

He currently also serves the Research & Investments Partner at Re:base Ventures (rebase.vc), a Web3 and DeFi investment firm with a strong focus on building and incubation. 

Previously, he spent time with Tencent, where he was responsible for the group's investments in the overseas markets (Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe). 

Prior to Tencent, he was in the Principal Investments team at Swiss Re, where he focused on driving the group's investments into financial services and Fintech sectors in APAC. 

He has been responsible for a wide range of investments and transactions (venture/growth, buyout, direct secondaries, etc.) totaling >$5 billion. Alec started his career with Bank of America Merrill Lynch.