ESG Analyst, Who's Good

Heejeong (Hollie) Park

ESG Analyst

ASIA’S FIRST AI-DRIVEN ESG INSIGHT PROVIDER

Who's Good

Using AI technologies and public data, Who’s Good provides objective and up-to-date corporate ESG insights on Asian companies.

WHY WHO'S GOOD

* Time-sensitive: Time is the essence in finance. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can process vast amount of information in a short span of time. Our powerful algorithm offers real-time in-depth corporate ESG analysis with out compromising its quality.
* Objective: We turned to public big data and news big data as source to base our analysis on and to preserve impartiality. We leverage 350 public big data sources and 93 news data sources in Korea to uncover insights.
* Insightful: Who’s Good ESG analysis coverage extends to all listed and non-listed companies in Korea. This allows us to provide a comprehensive insight into the Korean market.
* Global approach to ESG: Our ESG research framework is built on international standards and principles including UN Global Compact, ISO 26000, ICGN and CFA Guidelines on Corporate Governance to meet the global standards.

<ul>
<li>Domestic telecom company faced significant fines for false advertising of 5G, the second-largest penalty ever imposed. </li>
<li>Investigations into the telecom market, dominated by a long-term duopoly, are expanding. </li>
<li>Within KT Group's subcontracting process, allegations of favoritism and manipulation in project allocation are currently under investigation by the prosecution.</li>
</ul>


Domestic telecom company faced significant fines for false advertising of 5G, the second-largest penalty ever imposed. 
Investigations into the telecom market, dominated by a long-term duopoly, are expanding. 
Within KT Group's subcontracting process, allegations of favoritism and manipulation in project allocation are currently under investigation by the prosecution.


KT CORPORATION: Fines, Favoritism, and ESG Risks

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>In our view, the Korean government could allow a fourth major telco in Korea in the next 1-2 years. </li>
<li>The launch of the fourth major telco in Korea would have a significant negative impact on the three existing Korean telcos. </li>
<li>In the local media, the following companies have been mentioned as potential candidates to inject capital into the 4th telecom operator in Korea: Coupang, Naver, Kakao, Viva Republica, and Shinsegae.</li>
</ul>


In our view, the Korean government could allow a fourth major telco in Korea in the next 1-2 years. 
The launch of the fourth major telco in Korea would have a significant negative impact on the three existing Korean telcos. 
In the local media, the following companies have been mentioned as potential candidates to inject capital into the 4th telecom operator in Korea: Coupang, Naver, Kakao, Viva Republica, and Shinsegae.


When Will the Korean Government Allow the Fourth Telco in Korea?

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>The Starlink service is expected to be launched in Korea in 2Q/3Q 2023. Starlink gained more than 1 million active subscribers globally as of December 2022.</li>
<li>The launch of the Starlink service in Korea is likely to have a positive impact on  companies such as Hanwha Aerospace, Solu-M, Intellian Technologies, and Satrec Initiative.</li>
<li>We like a pair trade involving long (basket of 8 stocks above that are positively impacted by Starlink launch in Korea) and short (three major Korean telcos).</li>
</ul>


The Starlink service is expected to be launched in Korea in 2Q/3Q 2023. Starlink gained more than 1 million active subscribers globally as of December 2022.
The launch of the Starlink service in Korea is likely to have a positive impact on  companies such as Hanwha Aerospace, Solu-M, Intellian Technologies, and Satrec Initiative.
We like a pair trade involving long (basket of 8 stocks above that are positively impacted by Starlink launch in Korea) and short (three major Korean telcos).


Launch of Starlink Service by SpaceX - Impact on 11 Korean Companies

Korea / Special Sits, Pairs, Index Rebalancing, Clepsydra Capital

Sanghyun Park

Korea / Special Sits, Pairs, Index Rebalancing

Clepsydra Capital

Investigate special situations, pairs, and index rebalancing trades in Korea.

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>KT's foreign room has been rising since early September last year. If this trend continues, it will likely approach the inclusion borderline of 15% within a month or two.</li>
<li>This trend is expected to continue for the time being as the tough relationship between the KT CEO and the government seems unlikely to be resolved in the short term.</li>
<li>The February inclusion is pretty tight, but May seems like we could be looking out for it.</li>
</ul>


KT's foreign room has been rising since early September last year. If this trend continues, it will likely approach the inclusion borderline of 15% within a month or two.
This trend is expected to continue for the time being as the tough relationship between the KT CEO and the government seems unlikely to be resolved in the short term.
The February inclusion is pretty tight, but May seems like we could be looking out for it.


Foreign Ownership Limit Stocks in Korea: KT Is Again in the Limelight

<ul>
<li>At current prices, we like a pair trade between SK Telecom (go long) and LG Uplus (go short). </li>
<li>We believe the share price gap has widened too much in the past month in favor of LG Uplus and this gap is likely to close in the coming weeks.</li>
<li>While LG Uplus tries to expand its non-telecom businesses, this may involve greater spending on marketing and promotions (as % of sales), which could be a drag on its earnings.</li>
</ul>


At current prices, we like a pair trade between SK Telecom (go long) and LG Uplus (go short). 
We believe the share price gap has widened too much in the past month in favor of LG Uplus and this gap is likely to close in the coming weeks.
While LG Uplus tries to expand its non-telecom businesses, this may involve greater spending on marketing and promotions (as % of sales), which could be a drag on its earnings.


A Pair Trade Between SK Telecom & LG Uplus

South Korea

LG Uplus Corp., an affiliate of LG Group, provides a wide range of personal communications services (PCS) using code division multiple access (CDMA) technology.  The Company offers call forwarding, call and data transfer, call waiting, voice mail, Internet-phone, prepaid call, and authentication text-to-speech (TTS) services.

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LG Uplus Corp (032640 KS)

KT CORPORATION: Fines, Favoritism, and ESG Risks

Examining ESG Risks: KT CORPORATION (030200 KS), a leading Korean telecom company, under scrutiny for false 5G ads and favoritism investigation

Heejeong (Hollie) Park

When Will the Korean Government Allow the Fourth Telco in Korea?

The Korean government could allow a fourth major telco in Korea in the next 1-2 years which would have a significant negative impact on the three...

Douglas Kim

Launch of Starlink Service by SpaceX - Impact on 11 Korean Companies

The launch of the SpaceX's Starlink service in Korea in 2Q/3Q 2023 is likely to have a positive impact on companies such as Hanwha Aerospace, Solu...

Douglas Kim

Foreign Ownership Limit Stocks in Korea: KT Is Again in the Limelight

This post examines Korea's foreign ownership-restricted stocks and discusses potential momentum trading opportunities for KT.

Sanghyun Park

A Pair Trade Between SK Telecom & LG Uplus

At current prices, we like a pair trade between SK Telecom and LG Uplus. The price gap has widened too much in the past month in favor of LG Uplus...

Douglas Kim

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