Telco/Internet specialist

Kirk Boodry

Redex Research

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>This was a good print with underlying financial/operational results in line with our expectations whilst sector reads on competition (benign) and sales to corporates (positive) matching KDDI's report</li>
<li>The company raised its operating profit forecast by ¥50bn which seems low based on the announced PayPay revaluation gain but could include cover for asset retirement costs</li>
<li>An implied valuation of almost ¥1,000bn for the PayPay business overall will have bankers keen but that seems high versus our valuation and public comparables</li>
</ul>


This was a good print with underlying financial/operational results in line with our expectations whilst sector reads on competition (benign) and sales to corporates (positive) matching KDDI's report
The company raised its operating profit forecast by ¥50bn which seems low based on the announced PayPay revaluation gain but could include cover for asset retirement costs
An implied valuation of almost ¥1,000bn for the PayPay business overall will have bankers keen but that seems high versus our valuation and public comparables


Softbank Corp (Buy) - Q2 22 Results Reaction: PayPay Boost to Guidance and In-Line Results

<ul>
<li>KDDI posted its best revenue growth since 2019 but an acceleration in power costs and expenses associated with the July network outage kept a lid on margins</li>
<li>On balance, the print is positive and management remains confident on full-year targets</li>
<li>There are sector reads from corporate sales (good), higher power costs (bad), and stable competitive intensity whilst modest erosion in roaming revenue indicates Rakuten's rebound from peak losses is modest</li>
</ul>


KDDI posted its best revenue growth since 2019 but an acceleration in power costs and expenses associated with the July network outage kept a lid on margins
On balance, the print is positive and management remains confident on full-year targets
There are sector reads from corporate sales (good), higher power costs (bad), and stable competitive intensity whilst modest erosion in roaming revenue indicates Rakuten's rebound from peak losses is modest


KDDI (Buy) - Q2 22 Results Reaction: Mixed Quarter as Power Costs Accelerate

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>The Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare is likely to allow funds transfer service providers (cashless apps) to support digital salary payments </li>
<li>That could boost user and transaction volume growth rates although there are challenges like remittance limits and direct access to cash that need to be addressed</li>
<li>An expansion in utility is positive although comparable valuations from global peers remains under pressure</li>
</ul>


The Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare is likely to allow funds transfer service providers (cashless apps) to support digital salary payments 
That could boost user and transaction volume growth rates although there are challenges like remittance limits and direct access to cash that need to be addressed
An expansion in utility is positive although comparable valuations from global peers remains under pressure


Japan Fintech - Rule Changes Should Benefit Cashless Apps like PayPay

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements, Aequitas Research

Sumeet Singh

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements

IPOs and Placements coverage across Asia Pacific

Aequitas Research

We cover all listing across the Asia Pacific along with follow-up placements. As of Dec 2020, our team had covered 539 IPOs with a hit rate of 73.5% and 685 placements with a hit rate of 66.8%.

We combine fundamental bottom-up views with our proprietary quantitative framework to provide a holistic coverage across new listings and placements. Our coverage includes pre-IPO notes before the deal is launched, follow-up analysis once the deal is live and post-listing trading analysis as well.

Equity Capital Markets

<ul>
<li>Aequitas Research puts out a weekly update on the deals that were covered by the team recently along with updates for upcoming IPOs.</li>
<li>On the IPO front, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/socionext-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:36351:1" rel="noopener">Socionext (6526 JP)</a> provided a welcome respite with a positive listing, while South Korean IPOs continued to struggle.</li>
<li>There was only one large placement this week, with <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/glp-j-reit" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11009:1" rel="noopener">GLP J-REIT (3281 JP)</a> deciding to brave the markets.</li>
</ul>


Aequitas Research puts out a weekly update on the deals that were covered by the team recently along with updates for upcoming IPOs.
On the IPO front, Socionext (6526 JP) provided a welcome respite with a positive listing, while South Korean IPOs continued to struggle.
There was only one large placement this week, with GLP J-REIT (3281 JP) deciding to brave the markets.


ECM Weekly (16th Oct 2022) - Socionext, Betagro, Lionheart, Five-Star, Giant Biogene, GLP J-REIT

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

Travis Lundy

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Quiddity Advisors

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>As a follow-on to <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/topix-october-2022-rebal-big-names-with-big-flows" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:81835" rel="noopener">TOPIX October 2022 Rebal - BIG Names with BIG Flows</a> which discussed ¥2.1trln a side flows overall, this insight analyses and proposes intra-sector baskets.</li>
<li>In general, the sector-neutral BUYs vs SELLs baskets of all names where Index Shares change by 10% or more have seen BUYs sharply outperform SELLs in the past three weeks.</li>
<li>Look for pre-positioning unwinds so trading BUY vs SELL baskets which have bucked the trend, banks and chemicals - might be worthwhile. Otherwise, pick your spots. Use the flow.</li>
</ul>


As a follow-on to TOPIX October 2022 Rebal - BIG Names with BIG Flows which discussed ¥2.1trln a side flows overall, this insight analyses and proposes intra-sector baskets.
In general, the sector-neutral BUYs vs SELLs baskets of all names where Index Shares change by 10% or more have seen BUYs sharply outperform SELLs in the past three weeks.
Look for pre-positioning unwinds so trading BUY vs SELL baskets which have bucked the trend, banks and chemicals - might be worthwhile. Otherwise, pick your spots. Use the flow.


TOPIX October 2022 Rebal - Buy/Sell Baskets (May the Flow Be Ever In Your Favour)

Japan

Softbank Corporation provides mobile phone telecommunication and networking services. The Company offers mobile communication opening, short messaging function opening, video function opening, and other services. Softbank also provides mobile phones.

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Softbank Corp (9434 JP)

Softbank Corp (Buy) - Q2 22 Results Reaction: PayPay Boost to Guidance and In-Line Results

A guidance upgrade on the back of a robust PayPay valuation will grab most of the attention but we are also pleased with in-line results for the...

Kirk Boodry

KDDI (Buy) - Q2 22 Results Reaction: Mixed Quarter as Power Costs Accelerate

KDDI results were mostly positive as solid revenue growth offsets a jump in power costs. Growth in corporate sales was particularly robust although...

Kirk Boodry

Japan Fintech - Rule Changes Should Benefit Cashless Apps like PayPay

The MHLW is likely to update rules on digital wage payments by fiscal year end, opening the door for cashless apps to participate. That is positive...

Kirk Boodry

ECM Weekly (16th Oct 2022) - Socionext, Betagro, Lionheart, Five-Star, Giant Biogene, GLP J-REIT

Aequitas Research puts out a weekly update on the deals that were covered by the team recently along with updates for upcoming IPOs.

Sumeet Singh

TOPIX October 2022 Rebal - Buy/Sell Baskets (May the Flow Be Ever In Your Favour)

This companion piece to the first October 2022 FFW Rebalance piece shows both large (>¥5bn) and small (¥1-5bn) intra-sector flows. Using the flows...

Travis Lundy

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