Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

Event-Driven

<div class="content-highlight"><p>In this insight, we highlight the closing of the pricing gaps between the major Korean holdcos and opcos, especially with the upcoming end of the ban on the short selling of shares in Korea in May. In this insight, we highlight 26 pair trades that involve Korean holdcos and opcos.</p></div><p>Just a reminder that the ban on short selling of KOSPI 200 and KOSDAQ 150 included stocks will remain in place until May 2nd and investors will be able to resume their shorting on these 350 stocks starting on May 3rd. Once this ban on short selling of stocks ends, there could be more investors that may look to add to the holdco shares and short the opco shares (especially among the pairs where the holdco shares have underperformed the opco shares in the past year). However, some of these moves have already started to take place in the past few weeks, which could reduce the overall profits on the pair trades. </p><p>Traditionally, the pair trades involving Korean holdcos and opcos have been a trading strategy that many hedge funds have employed for many years. However, the ban on short selling of stocks in Korea have prevented many of these funds from employing these pair trade strategies. Once the ban ends, you will likely see these funds becoming more active in these trading methods once again. </p><div class="content-highlight">
<p>In the section below, we separated the pair trades into two different sections. The first table involves major opcos outperforming holdcos (regular and quasi) in the past year. Of the 26 pair trade strategies mentioned in this insight, this section I involves 19 of them (73% of total). The section II (which involve holdcos outperforming the opcos in the past year) involves 7 pair trade strategies (27% of total).</p>
<p>In other words, the opcos in general have vastly outperformed the holdcos in the past year, especially due to the ban on the short selling of stocks in Korea. Because the opcos tend to be the bigger company than the holdcos in terms of market cap, many fund managers (both active and passive) have tended to just invest in the opcos and pay less attention to the holdcos.  </p>
</div><p>Also, we described the holdcos as either regular or quasi. SK Telecom and Samsung C&amp;T would be examples of "quasi" holdcos whereas Orion Holdings and Hanjin Kal would be examples of regular holdcos. </p>

In this insight, we highlight the closing of the pricing gaps between the major Korean holdcos and opcos, especially with the upcoming end of the ban on the short selling of shares in Korea in May. In this insight, we highlight 26 pair trades that involve Korean holdcos and opcos.Just a reminder that the ban on short selling of KOSPI 200 and KOSDAQ 150 included stocks will remain in place until May 2nd and investors will be able to resume their shorting on these 350 stocks starting on May 3rd. Once this ban on short selling of stocks ends, there could be more investors that may look to add to the holdco shares and short the opco shares (especially among the pairs where the holdco shares have underperformed the opco shares in the past year). However, some of these moves have already started to take place in the past few weeks, which could reduce the overall profits on the pair trades. Traditionally, the pair trades involving Korean holdcos and opcos have been a trading strategy that many hedge funds have employed for many years. However, the ban on short selling of stocks in Korea have prevented many of these funds from employing these pair trade strategies. Once the ban ends, you will likely see these funds becoming more active in these trading methods once again. 
In the section below, we separated the pair trades into two different sections. The first table involves major opcos outperforming holdcos (regular and quasi) in the past year. Of the 26 pair trade strategies mentioned in this insight, this section I involves 19 of them (73% of total). The section II (which involve holdcos outperforming the opcos in the past year) involves 7 pair trade strategies (27% of total).
In other words, the opcos in general have vastly outperformed the holdcos in the past year, especially due to the ban on the short selling of stocks in Korea. Because the opcos tend to be the bigger company than the holdcos in terms of market cap, many fund managers (both active and passive) have tended to just invest in the opcos and pay less attention to the holdcos.  
Also, we described the holdcos as either regular or quasi. SK Telecom and Samsung C&amp;T would be examples of "quasi" holdcos whereas Orion Holdings and Hanjin Kal would be examples of regular holdcos. 

Closing the Gap: Korean Holdcos Vs. Opcos

Technical Analyst, Vermilion Research

Joe Jasper

Technical Analyst

Technical and Quantitative Research

Vermilion Research

Vermilion’s objective is to deliver timely, actionable, and unique technical research to professional investors through the application of our various technical indicators.

Our research strategists seek to highlight securities which we believe are at major inflection points, based on our various technical and quantitative indicators, and offer asymmetric risk/return profiles. Our unique research methodology, centered on relative strength, enables our strategists to deliver superior investment recommendations.

Our process begins by organizing the universe of actively traded stocks into discrete sectors, then into industry groups. We then apply our technical and quantitative tools to identify developing price trends. Once attractive trends are identified within a selected sector or group, we screen for individual stocks which we believe offer the best risk/reward profile. We provide a historical perspective that often reveals, through our long-term charts, how price patterns often repeat themselves over time.

Technical Analysis

<p>Despite a much more mixed market environment, our weight-of-the-evidence approach continues to support a constructive intermediate-term outlook. The bottom line: there is little evidence that suggests a pullback would be anything more than a buying opportunity.</p>

Despite a much more mixed market environment, our weight-of-the-evidence approach continues to support a constructive intermediate-term outlook. The bottom line: there is little evidence that suggests a pullback would be anything more than a buying opportunity.

Defensives Are Worth A Look; Hang Seng, Shanghai Comp, Nikkei 225, STOXX 50 Support Levels Holding

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.

The May 3 short-selling resumption will likely highlight the 5 local pairs:
1 stub pair
4 share class pairs
They are the exclusive members of the MC &gt; ₩1T and DTV &gt; ₩10B club, making them the most actively arb-traded pairs in Korea.Also, they are eligible for short-selling right on May 3 as they are part of the Short 350.












Name
Ticker
MC (₩B)
SO
DTV
DTV/SO
30D avg
DTV (₩B)


AmoreG
002790
5,648.4
82,458,180
160,858
0.20%
₩66,850
10.8


Amorepacific
090430
15,023.8
58,458,490
187,379
0.32%
₩260,386
48.8



Samsung Elec 1P
005935
61,716.5
822,886,700
1,415,401
0.17%
₩74,655
105.7


Samsung Elec Ord
005930
493,104.0
5,969,782,550
16,220,095
0.27%
₩83,305
1,351.2



LG Chem 1P
051915
3,017.9
7,688,800
30,796
0.40%
₩387,955
11.9


LG Chem Ord
051910
60,991.8
70,592,343
418,077
0.59%
₩830,818
347.3



Hyundai Motor 1P
005385
2,630.5
24,356,685
79,662
0.33%
₩105,491
8.4


Hyundai Motor Ord
005380
48,182.2
213,668,187
955,060
0.45%
₩226,159
216.0



Hyundai Motor 2PB
005387
3,794.5
36,485,451
90,328
0.25%
₩103,468
9.3


Hyundai Motor Ord
005380
48,182.2
213,668,187
955,060
0.45%
₩226,159
216.0

Source: KRX

On a 20D MA, LG Chem is the only one at -1σ or less.












σ on 20D MA
Ticker
Today
T-1
T-2
T-3
T-4
T-5


AmoreG
002790
1.31
1.77
1.46
1.79
0.92
1.28


Amorepacific
090430



Samsung Elec 1P
005935
1.44
0.69
1.10
0.18
-0.35
-0.03


Samsung Elec Ord
005930



LG Chem 1P
051915
-1.34
-1.80
-1.30
-1.93
-1.53
-0.95


LG Chem Ord
051910



Hyundai Motor 1P
005385
1.13
1.16
1.73
1.87
2.18
2.60


Hyundai Motor Ord
005380



Hyundai Motor 2PB
005387
0.34
1.45
1.06
0.79
1.29
1.45


Hyundai Motor Ord
005380

Source: KRX

But they (the holding company and prefs) are at a discount to the 1-yr means, except for Samsung Elec 1P.Hyundai Motor 2PB, AmoreG, and LG Chem 1P had substantially declined relative to their respective partner.












Price ratio
Ticker
Today
120D mean
120DH
120DL
1Y mean
2Y mean


AmoreG
002790
0.26654
-1.08%
-9.30%
9.17%
-9.13%
-22.50%


Amorepacific
090430



Samsung Elec 1P
005935
0.90799
0.87%
-4.16%
4.52%
2.76%
6.01%


Samsung Elec Ord
005930



LG Chem 1P
051915
0.45428
-3.34%
-13.17%
5.11%
-6.10%
-10.43%


LG Chem Ord
051910



Hyundai Motor 1P
005385
0.47894
3.09%
-5.02%
12.74%
-4.68%
-11.77%


Hyundai Motor Ord
005380



Hyundai Motor 2PB
005387
0.46120
1.18%
-6.27%
10.15%
-9.48%
-20.03%


Hyundai Motor Ord
005380

Source: KRX



5 Most Actively Arb-Traded Pairs in Korea: 1 Stub & 4 Share Class with +₩1T MC & +₩10B DTV

Equity Bottom-Up

<p>It has been more than a year that it has been discussed in the Korean media about a potential visit of Xi Jinping to South Korea. Due to concerns about COVID-19 and other political factors, Xi Jinping's visit to South Korea has continued to get delayed. Xi Jinping's visit to South Korea is very important since it signifies that there could be much improved measures to increase trade and business opportunities between the two countries. His visit could also lead to the Chinese government opening up measures to allow greater travel measures for the people in China to visit South Korea. </p><p><strong>When will Xi Jinping Visit South Korea? </strong>Although the exact time period of when Xi Jinping could visit South Korea is uncertain, late August/early September could be a probable time when he could visit South Korea. This would be about four months from now which would provide more time for the South Korean government to reduce the daily new cases of COVID-19. It is also probably likely that some investors are already buying shares of these stocks ahead of the actual official announcement of a potential visit of South Korea by Xi Jinping.</p>

It has been more than a year that it has been discussed in the Korean media about a potential visit of Xi Jinping to South Korea. Due to concerns about COVID-19 and other political factors, Xi Jinping's visit to South Korea has continued to get delayed. Xi Jinping's visit to South Korea is very important since it signifies that there could be much improved measures to increase trade and business opportunities between the two countries. His visit could also lead to the Chinese government opening up measures to allow greater travel measures for the people in China to visit South Korea. When will Xi Jinping Visit South Korea? Although the exact time period of when Xi Jinping could visit South Korea is uncertain, late August/early September could be a probable time when he could visit South Korea. This would be about four months from now which would provide more time for the South Korean government to reduce the daily new cases of COVID-19. It is also probably likely that some investors are already buying shares of these stocks ahead of the actual official announcement of a potential visit of South Korea by Xi Jinping.

Xi Jinping's Visit to South Korea: A Trading Strategy for Korean Cosmetics & Consumer Stocks

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One, Periscope Analytics

Brian Freitas

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One

Quantitative Analysis

<div><p>The Asia Short Interest weekly looks at moves in market wide short interest and highlights movements in stock specific short interest across Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan using the last available data published by the relevant authorities.</p></div><div><p>Hong Kong saw shorts rise on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/xinyi-solar-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:318:1" rel="noopener">Xinyi Solar Holdings (968 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/lenovo-group-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13359:1" rel="noopener">Lenovo (992 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/jd-health-international-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:29677:1" rel="noopener">JD Health (6618 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/byd-co-ltd-h" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:20962:1" rel="noopener">BYD (1211 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/alibaba-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28434:1" rel="noopener">Alibaba Group (9988 HK)</a> while there was short covering on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tencent-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26:1" rel="noopener">Tencent Holdings (700 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/xiaomi-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24409:1" rel="noopener">Xiaomi Corp (1810 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-pacific-insurance-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6177:1" rel="noopener">China Pacific Insurance (2601 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sunny-optical-tech" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13363:1" rel="noopener">Sunny Optical (2382 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/cspc-pharmaceutical-group-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:229:1" rel="noopener">CSPC Pharmaceutical Group (1093 HK)</a>. Shorts increased in Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Health Care and Information Technology, while shorts decreased in Communication Services, Financials, Real Estate and Industrials.</p></div><div><p>In Japan, stocks that saw the most shorts were <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/eneos-holdings-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:638:1" rel="noopener">ENEOS Holdings (5020 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/mitsubishi-ufj-financial-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:218:1" rel="noopener">Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (MUFG) (8306 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/resona-holdings-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6841:1" rel="noopener">Resona Holdings (8308 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/mitsubishi-ufj-lease-finance" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1467:1" rel="noopener">Mitsubishi UFJ Lease &amp; Finance (8593 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/nsk-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6309:1" rel="noopener">NSK Ltd (6471 JP)</a> while shorts decreased on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/toshiba-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:637:1" rel="noopener">Toshiba Corp (6502 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/asics-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:16287:1" rel="noopener">ASICS Corp (7936 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/haseko-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:748:1" rel="noopener">Haseko Corp (1808 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/cyberagent-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8197:1" rel="noopener">CyberAgent Inc (4751 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/idemitsu-kosan-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:109:1" rel="noopener">Idemitsu Kosan (5019 JP)</a>. Shorts increased in Financials, Energy, Health Care and Information Technology sectors, and decreased in the Industrials sector.</p></div><div><p>In Korea, short increased on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/amorepacific-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:20854:1" rel="noopener">Amorepacific Corp (090430 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/korea-united-pharm-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:5207:1" rel="noopener">Korea United Pharm (033270 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/lg-chem-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:3583:1" rel="noopener">LG Chem Ltd (051910 KS)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/korea-electric-power-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:16:1" rel="noopener">Korea Electric Power (015760 KS)</a> while shorts decreased on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/samsung-electronics-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:191:1" rel="noopener">Samsung Electronics (005930 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/doosan-infracore-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:3982:1" rel="noopener">Doosan Infracore (042670 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/naver-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:16029:1" rel="noopener">Naver Corp (035420 KS)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sk-hynix-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:16955:1" rel="noopener">SK Hynix (000660 KS)</a>. </p></div><div><p>Stocks in Taiwan that saw the highest increase in shorts were <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/pegatron-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12852:1" rel="noopener">Pegatron Corp (4938 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/unimicron-technology-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18778:1" rel="noopener">Unimicron Technology (3037 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/yulon-motor-company" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18249:1" rel="noopener">Yulon Motor Company (2201 TT)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/united-microelectronics-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6450:1" rel="noopener">United Microelectronics Corp (2303 TT)</a> while shorts were covered on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/taiwan-semiconductor-manufacturing-company" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11230:1" rel="noopener">TSMC (2330 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/yageo-corporation" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13212:1" rel="noopener">Yageo Corporation (2327 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/au-optronics-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6704:1" rel="noopener">AU Optronics (2409 TT)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/acer-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:15726:1" rel="noopener">Acer Inc (2353 TT)</a>. </p></div>

The Asia Short Interest weekly looks at moves in market wide short interest and highlights movements in stock specific short interest across Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan using the last available data published by the relevant authorities.Hong Kong saw shorts rise on Xinyi Solar Holdings (968 HK), Lenovo (992 HK), JD Health (6618 HK), BYD (1211 HK) and Alibaba Group (9988 HK) while there was short covering on Tencent Holdings (700 HK), Xiaomi Corp (1810 HK), China Pacific Insurance (2601 HK), Sunny Optical (2382 HK) and CSPC Pharmaceutical Group (1093 HK). Shorts increased in Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Health Care and Information Technology, while shorts decreased in Communication Services, Financials, Real Estate and Industrials.In Japan, stocks that saw the most shorts were ENEOS Holdings (5020 JP), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (MUFG) (8306 JP), Resona Holdings (8308 JP), Mitsubishi UFJ Lease &amp; Finance (8593 JP) and NSK Ltd (6471 JP) while shorts decreased on Toshiba Corp (6502 JP), ASICS Corp (7936 JP), Haseko Corp (1808 JP), CyberAgent Inc (4751 JP) and Idemitsu Kosan (5019 JP). Shorts increased in Financials, Energy, Health Care and Information Technology sectors, and decreased in the Industrials sector.In Korea, short increased on Amorepacific Corp (090430 KS), Korea United Pharm (033270 KS), LG Chem Ltd (051910 KS) and Korea Electric Power (015760 KS) while shorts decreased on Samsung Electronics (005930 KS), Doosan Infracore (042670 KS), Naver Corp (035420 KS) and SK Hynix (000660 KS). Stocks in Taiwan that saw the highest increase in shorts were Pegatron Corp (4938 TT), Unimicron Technology (3037 TT), Yulon Motor Company (2201 TT) and United Microelectronics Corp (2303 TT) while shorts were covered on TSMC (2330 TT), Yageo Corporation (2327 TT), AU Optronics (2409 TT) and Acer Inc (2353 TT). 

Asia Short Interest: Xinyi Solar, Alibaba, Tencent, ENEOS, Resona, Toshiba, Samsung, TSMC, Yageo

South Korea

Amorepacific Corporation develops, manufactures, and exports skin care, make-up, and fragrance products. The Company also produces and markets personal care and health-related products, such as shampoos, soaps, toothpastes, and health teas.

Price Gauge
52-week Range	0.00 - 0.00
Market Cap (USDm)	0.00
P/E	0.00
Dividend (Yield)	0.00

Amorepacific Corp (090430 KS)

Closing the Gap: Korean Holdcos Vs. Opcos

In this insight, we highlight the closing of the pricing gaps between the major Korean holdcos and opcos, especially with the upcoming end of the...

Douglas Kim

Defensives Are Worth A Look; Hang Seng, Shanghai Comp, Nikkei 225, STOXX 50 Support Levels Holding

A review of major global indexes reveals an absence of major breakdowns. We highlight opportunities within defensive Sectors (Real Estate, Consumer...

Vermilion Research

Xi Jinping's Visit to South Korea: A Trading Strategy for Korean Cosmetics & Consumer Stocks

In this insight, we discuss the increasing probability of Xi Jinping visiting South Korea in August/September. This could be a key catalyst for...

Douglas Kim

Asia Short Interest: Xinyi Solar, Alibaba, Tencent, ENEOS, Resona, Toshiba, Samsung, TSMC, Yageo

The Insight looks at large short interest movements across HK, Japan, Korea and Taiwan stocks and highlights large increases/decreases in shorts to...

Brian Freitas

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

Closing the Gap: Korean Holdcos Vs. Opcos

In this insight, we highlight the closing of the pricing gaps between the major Korean holdcos and opcos, especially with the upcoming end of the...

Douglas Kim

Defensives Are Worth A Look; Hang Seng, Shanghai Comp, Nikkei 225, STOXX 50 Support Levels Holding

A review of major global indexes reveals an absence of major breakdowns. We highlight opportunities within defensive Sectors (Real Estate, Consumer...

Vermilion Research

5 Most Actively Arb-Traded Pairs in Korea: 1 Stub & 4 Share Class with +₩1T MC & +₩10B DTV

The May 3 shorting resumption will highlight the 5 most actively arb-traded pairs: 1 stub & 4 share classes (+₩1T MC & +₩10B DTV). This post...

Sanghyun Park

Xi Jinping's Visit to South Korea: A Trading Strategy for Korean Cosmetics & Consumer Stocks

In this insight, we discuss the increasing probability of Xi Jinping visiting South Korea in August/September. This could be a key catalyst for...

Douglas Kim

Asia Short Interest: Xinyi Solar, Alibaba, Tencent, ENEOS, Resona, Toshiba, Samsung, TSMC, Yageo

The Insight looks at large short interest movements across HK, Japan, Korea and Taiwan stocks and highlights large increases/decreases in shorts to...

Brian Freitas