ASEAN Insight Provider, CrossASEAN Research

Angus Mackintosh

ASEAN Insight Provider

CrossASEAN Research

At CrossASEAN Research we strive to produce unbiased and differentiated on the ground insights on companies across South East Asia. Our Research is produced for the most part after face to face meetings and conversations with company management to dig deep into the long term vision and strategy of the companies we cover. We seek to deliver investable and actionable themes on sectors and markets across SE Asia, often in collaboration with other Insight Providers across the region, pooling the vast experience of the analysts within the Smartkarma Ecosystem. We also offer bespoke work and tailor made trips for our clients. 

Insights across South East Asia

Private Capital Markets

<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/carousell-pte-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28154:1" rel="noopener">Carousell Pte Ltd (1040620D SP)</a> is South East Asia's largest  "classifieds marketplace" and it claims to make selling as easy as taking a photo and buying as simple as chatting. The traffic through Carousell is impressive but the question is can it monetize this huge potential?
Founded in August 2012, Carousell began in Singapore and is now one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing classifieds marketplaces, with a presence in eight markets across South East Asia, together with Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Carousell offers through classified listings a diverse range of products across a variety of categories, including lifestyle, gadgets, and fashion accessories but has been moving to more profitable and big-ticket areas, such as autos, property, and job ads.
The company is backed by a number of large-sized investors including <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/telenor-asa" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22258:1" rel="noopener">Telenor ASA (TEL NO)</a>, Rakuten Ventures <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/rakuten-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:31:1" rel="noopener">Rakuten Inc (4755 JP)</a>, Naver, Sequoia Capital (India), OLX, and most recently STIC investments giving the company strong backing with the most recent valuation at US$1.1bn, sealing its entry to the unicorn club. 
The company was reportedly exploring a potential listing in the US through a SPAC listing which could value the company at as much as US$1.5bn but management has said that it is considering all options to grow the company including an IPO. Carousel this year appointed a former <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/razer-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24380:1" rel="noopener">Razer Inc (1337 HK)</a> executive Edwin Chan as its CFO. Chan oversaw a gaming hardware company’s public listing in Hong Kong in 2017. We see this company as one of the most ESG-friendly investments available given its exposure to the circular economy.

Carousell Pte Ltd (1040620D SP) is South East Asia's largest  "classifieds marketplace" and it claims to make selling as easy as taking a photo and buying as simple as chatting. The traffic through Carousell is impressive but the question is can it monetize this huge potential?
Founded in August 2012, Carousell began in Singapore and is now one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing classifieds marketplaces, with a presence in eight markets across South East Asia, together with Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Carousell offers through classified listings a diverse range of products across a variety of categories, including lifestyle, gadgets, and fashion accessories but has been moving to more profitable and big-ticket areas, such as autos, property, and job ads.
The company is backed by a number of large-sized investors including Telenor ASA (TEL NO), Rakuten Ventures Rakuten Inc (4755 JP), Naver, Sequoia Capital (India), OLX, and most recently STIC investments giving the company strong backing with the most recent valuation at US$1.1bn, sealing its entry to the unicorn club. 
The company was reportedly exploring a potential listing in the US through a SPAC listing which could value the company at as much as US$1.5bn but management has said that it is considering all options to grow the company including an IPO. Carousel this year appointed a former Razer Inc (1337 HK) executive Edwin Chan as its CFO. Chan oversaw a gaming hardware company’s public listing in Hong Kong in 2017. We see this company as one of the most ESG-friendly investments available given its exposure to the circular economy.

Carousell - Champion of the Circular Economy

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

Brian Freitas

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One

Event-Driven

In this weeks recap, we look at:<ul>
<li>the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/santos-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:711:1" rel="noopener">Santos Ltd (STO AU)</a> / <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/oil-search-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:773:1" rel="noopener">Oil Search Ltd (OSH AU)</a> merger and the impact on the S&amp;P/ASX 100 and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/s-p-asx-200" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22901:1" rel="noopener">S&amp;P/ASX 200 (AS51 INDEX)</a> </li>
<li>the spread on the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/keppel-corp-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12:1" rel="noopener">Keppel Corp (KEP SP)</a> / <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/singapore-press-holdings-limited" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9952:1" rel="noopener">Singapore Press Holdings (SPH SP)</a> deal and potential index flows</li>
<li>the listing of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hyundai-heavy-industries-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:33808:1" rel="noopener">Hyundai Heavy Industries (329180 KS)</a> and the potential Fast Entry into the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/korea-stock-exchange-kospi-200-index" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26021:1" rel="noopener">Korea Stock Exchange Kospi 200 Index (KOSPI2 INDEX)</a> </li>
<li>the potential changes to the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/stock-exchange-of-thailand-set-50-index" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:31493:1" rel="noopener">Stock Exchange of Thailand SET 50 Index (SET50 INDEX)</a> at the December rebalance</li>
<li>the potential changes to the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hang-seng-tech-index" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:31367:1" rel="noopener">Hang Seng Tech Index (HSTECH INDEX)</a> at the December rebalance</li>
<li>the potential changes to the Hang Seng Composite Index (HSCI) at the December and March rebalances</li>
</ul>There are no major index events in the coming week - there were enough in the last week!There were substantial inflows to onshore China ETFs in the last week, while there was finally an outflow (albeit a small one) from <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kraneshares-csi-china-internet-fund" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28208:1" rel="noopener">KraneShares CSI China Internet Fund (KWEB US)</a>.

In this weeks recap, we look at:
the Santos Ltd (STO AU) / Oil Search Ltd (OSH AU) merger and the impact on the S&amp;P/ASX 100 and S&amp;P/ASX 200 (AS51 INDEX) 
the spread on the Keppel Corp (KEP SP) / Singapore Press Holdings (SPH SP) deal and potential index flows
the listing of Hyundai Heavy Industries (329180 KS) and the potential Fast Entry into the Korea Stock Exchange Kospi 200 Index (KOSPI2 INDEX) 
the potential changes to the Stock Exchange of Thailand SET 50 Index (SET50 INDEX) at the December rebalance
the potential changes to the Hang Seng Tech Index (HSTECH INDEX) at the December rebalance
the potential changes to the Hang Seng Composite Index (HSCI) at the December and March rebalances
There are no major index events in the coming week - there were enough in the last week!There were substantial inflows to onshore China ETFs in the last week, while there was finally an outflow (albeit a small one) from KraneShares CSI China Internet Fund (KWEB US). 

Index Rebalance & ETF Flow Recap: STO/OSH, KEP/SPH, HHI, SET50, HSTECH, HSCI

On 30 March, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/singapore-press-holdings-limited" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9952:1" rel="noopener">Singapore Press Holdings (SPH SP)</a> announced that it was undergoing a strategic review to consider options for its various businesses. On 6 May, the company announced that it would be transferring its media business to a not-for-profit entity.Then, on 2 August, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/keppel-corp-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12:1" rel="noopener">Keppel Corp (KEP SP)</a> announced that it was proposing to acquire <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/singapore-press-holdings-limited" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9952:1" rel="noopener">Singapore Press Holdings (SPH SP)</a> ex the media business and then delist and privatise SPH. Under the terms of the Scheme, for each share of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/singapore-press-holdings-limited" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9952:1" rel="noopener">Singapore Press Holdings (SPH SP)</a> held, shareholders will receive cash of S$0.668, 0.596 units of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/keppel-reit" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:192:1" rel="noopener">Keppel REIT (KREIT SP)</a> and 0.782 units of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sph-reit" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:5994:1" rel="noopener">SPH REIT (SPHREIT SP)</a>.The offer valued <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/singapore-press-holdings-limited" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9952:1" rel="noopener">Singapore Press Holdings (SPH SP)</a> at S$2.0987/share (a 11.63% premium to the close of S$1.88/share for SPH) using the closing prices for <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/keppel-reit" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:192:1" rel="noopener">Keppel REIT (KREIT SP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sph-reit" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:5994:1" rel="noopener">SPH REIT (SPHREIT SP)</a>. Since then, the offer value has dropped to S$2.0507/share while <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/singapore-press-holdings-limited" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9952:1" rel="noopener">Singapore Press Holdings (SPH SP)</a> has moved higher to S$1.94/share.On 10 September, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/singapore-press-holdings-limited" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9952:1" rel="noopener">Singapore Press Holdings (SPH SP)</a> shareholders voted in favour of the spin-off of the media business. This paves the way for the next EGM and Scheme Meeting where <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/singapore-press-holdings-limited" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9952:1" rel="noopener">Singapore Press Holdings (SPH SP)</a> shareholders will vote on the proposed privatisation by <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/keppel-corp-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12:1" rel="noopener">Keppel Corp (KEP SP)</a>.<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/singapore-press-holdings-limited" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9952:1" rel="noopener">Singapore Press Holdings (SPH SP)</a> still trades at a 5.4% discount to the offer value and is lower from the 3.1% discount at the close on 31 August. With around 3 months to go before the privatisation is complete (if voted through), there is good value is arbitraging the spread.

On 30 March, Singapore Press Holdings (SPH SP) announced that it was undergoing a strategic review to consider options for its various businesses. On 6 May, the company announced that it would be transferring its media business to a not-for-profit entity.Then, on 2 August, Keppel Corp (KEP SP) announced that it was proposing to acquire Singapore Press Holdings (SPH SP) ex the media business and then delist and privatise SPH. Under the terms of the Scheme, for each share of Singapore Press Holdings (SPH SP) held, shareholders will receive cash of S$0.668, 0.596 units of Keppel REIT (KREIT SP) and 0.782 units of SPH REIT (SPHREIT SP).The offer valued Singapore Press Holdings (SPH SP) at S$2.0987/share (a 11.63% premium to the close of S$1.88/share for SPH) using the closing prices for Keppel REIT (KREIT SP) and SPH REIT (SPHREIT SP). Since then, the offer value has dropped to S$2.0507/share while Singapore Press Holdings (SPH SP) has moved higher to S$1.94/share.On 10 September, Singapore Press Holdings (SPH SP) shareholders voted in favour of the spin-off of the media business. This paves the way for the next EGM and Scheme Meeting where Singapore Press Holdings (SPH SP) shareholders will vote on the proposed privatisation by Keppel Corp (KEP SP).Singapore Press Holdings (SPH SP) still trades at a 5.4% discount to the offer value and is lower from the 3.1% discount at the close on 31 August. With around 3 months to go before the privatisation is complete (if voted through), there is good value is arbitraging the spread.

Keppel Corp / SPH: One Step Closer to Privatisation

SGX Market Strategist, Equity & Fixed Income, Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX)

Geoff Howie

SGX Market Strategist, Equity & Fixed Income

Asia’s leading multi-asset exchange

Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX)

Singapore Exchange is Asia’s leading and trusted market infrastructure, facilitating the exchange of capital and ideas to create value for people, businesses and economies. As a multi-asset exchange operating equity, fixed income and derivatives markets to the highest regulatory standards, SGX is a vertically integrated business that provides listing, trading, clearing, settlement, depository and data services.

With about 40% of listed companies and over 80% of listed bonds originating outside of Singapore as well as established linkages across the region and in Europe, SGX is Asia’s most international and connected exchange. Offering a full suite of derivatives products across Asian equity indices, commodities and currencies, SGX is the world’s most liquid international market for the benchmark equity indices of China, India, Japan and ASEAN.

As Asia’s pioneering central counterparty, SGX is globally recognised for its risk management and clearing capabilities, and was one of the first globally to adopt the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructure.

Headquartered in AAA-rated Singapore, SGX has over 800 employees including offices in Beijing, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, New York, Mumbai, San Francisco, Shanghai and Tokyo.

Equity Bottom-Up

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ASCOTT Residence Trust Ascott Trust: HMN -0.51% (ART) announced last week that it will acquire a student accommodation property in Texas, in the United States, which will be its third student accommodation asset investment this year.

While ART may be the first Singapore-listed trust to venture into student housing as S-Reits continue to diversify across property sub-segments, there are other Singapore-listed companies such as Singapore Press Holdings SPH: T39 +1.03% , Far East Orchard Far East Orchard: O10 -3.64% , Centurion Corporation Centurion: OU8 0% , Wee Hur Wee Hur: E3B 0% , and Metro Holdings Metro: M01 0% that invest, own, and manage purpose built student accommodation assets (PBSA).

According to Knight Frank, global investments in PBSA reached a record US$16.3 billion in 2018.

Savills considers the PBSA sector to be counter-cyclical and notes in a report that it was one of the few asset classes that showed resilience during the global financial crisis in 2008.

In addition, data collated by Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL) has shown that over a third of deals for student housing in 2021 so far have been by private equity firms, as investors continue to seek exposure to alternative real estate sectors.

ART's most recent acquisition is a freehold 1,005-bed student accommodation asset in Lubbock, Texas, for S$93.8 million. Wildwood Lubbock is a cottage-style property that is fully leased for the 2021 academic year and serves over 40,000 students from Texas Tech University.

The trust expects the acquisition to increase its pro forma FY2020 distribution per stapled security by approximately 1.5 per cent.

It also notes the longer average leases of student housing at one year, versus hotel stays.

ART has acquired four longer-stay accommodation assets this year, after expanding its strategy and diversifying its portfolio from traditional hospitality assets, further increasing its resilience and stable income.

Its two other student housing assets are in Atlanta (acquired in February 2021 for S$126.3 million) and South Carolina (acquired in June 2021 for S$73.4 million), both in the US.

In June 2021, ART also acquired three rental housing properties in Sapporo, Japan for S$85.2 million.

Following the acquisitions, ART's rental housing and student accommodation properties will comprise about 11 per cent of its portfolio value, up from 5 per cent in end 2020. It has a medium-term target to expand it to 15 to 20 per cent.

CDL Hospitality Trust CDL HTrust: J85 -0.85% (CDLHT) in July this year has announced that it is revising its principal investment strategy to include rental housing, student accommodation and senior housing assets.

The trust sees the revision of its strategy as a way to bring more diversification to its portfolio, enhance income stability as tenants typically have longer lengths of stay compared to hotels, and expand its range of investment opportunities given its broader mandate.

Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) has a portfolio of 28 PBSA assets in the UK with a total of 7,723 beds under its brands Capitol Students, Student Castle, and Galileo Residenz.

Far East Orchard owns a PBSA portfolio in the UK comprising over 3,500 beds in the cities of Brighton, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Sheffield.

Centurion Corporation has a PBSA segment with 19 assets in Australia, South Korea, the UK and US that accounted for 25 per cent of its revenue in H12021.

Wee Hur Holdings' PBSA business is undertaken via two of its funds which manage two operational assets, one asset pending operations and the rest at various stages of development.

Metro Holdings' PBSA portfolio consists of two properties in Warwick and Bristol, in the UK, and a 7.3 per cent investment in the Mapletree Global Student Accommodation Private Trust. 

REIT Watch is a weekly column on The Business Times, <a href="https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/ascott-joins-trend-of-hospitality-reits-pivoting-to-student-housing">read</a><a href="https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/10-s-reits-yielding-long-term-annualised-returns"> </a>the original version.
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ASCOTT Residence Trust Ascott Trust: HMN -0.51% (ART) announced last week that it will acquire a student accommodation property in Texas, in the United States, which will be its third student accommodation asset investment this year.

While ART may be the first Singapore-listed trust to venture into student housing as S-Reits continue to diversify across property sub-segments, there are other Singapore-listed companies such as Singapore Press Holdings SPH: T39 +1.03% , Far East Orchard Far East Orchard: O10 -3.64% , Centurion Corporation Centurion: OU8 0% , Wee Hur Wee Hur: E3B 0% , and Metro Holdings Metro: M01 0% that invest, own, and manage purpose built student accommodation assets (PBSA).

According to Knight Frank, global investments in PBSA reached a record US$16.3 billion in 2018.

Savills considers the PBSA sector to be counter-cyclical and notes in a report that it was one of the few asset classes that showed resilience during the global financial crisis in 2008.

In addition, data collated by Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL) has shown that over a third of deals for student housing in 2021 so far have been by private equity firms, as investors continue to seek exposure to alternative real estate sectors.

ART's most recent acquisition is a freehold 1,005-bed student accommodation asset in Lubbock, Texas, for S$93.8 million. Wildwood Lubbock is a cottage-style property that is fully leased for the 2021 academic year and serves over 40,000 students from Texas Tech University.

The trust expects the acquisition to increase its pro forma FY2020 distribution per stapled security by approximately 1.5 per cent.

It also notes the longer average leases of student housing at one year, versus hotel stays.

ART has acquired four longer-stay accommodation assets this year, after expanding its strategy and diversifying its portfolio from traditional hospitality assets, further increasing its resilience and stable income.

Its two other student housing assets are in Atlanta (acquired in February 2021 for S$126.3 million) and South Carolina (acquired in June 2021 for S$73.4 million), both in the US.

In June 2021, ART also acquired three rental housing properties in Sapporo, Japan for S$85.2 million.

Following the acquisitions, ART's rental housing and student accommodation properties will comprise about 11 per cent of its portfolio value, up from 5 per cent in end 2020. It has a medium-term target to expand it to 15 to 20 per cent.

CDL Hospitality Trust CDL HTrust: J85 -0.85% (CDLHT) in July this year has announced that it is revising its principal investment strategy to include rental housing, student accommodation and senior housing assets.

The trust sees the revision of its strategy as a way to bring more diversification to its portfolio, enhance income stability as tenants typically have longer lengths of stay compared to hotels, and expand its range of investment opportunities given its broader mandate.

Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) has a portfolio of 28 PBSA assets in the UK with a total of 7,723 beds under its brands Capitol Students, Student Castle, and Galileo Residenz.

Far East Orchard owns a PBSA portfolio in the UK comprising over 3,500 beds in the cities of Brighton, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Sheffield.

Centurion Corporation has a PBSA segment with 19 assets in Australia, South Korea, the UK and US that accounted for 25 per cent of its revenue in H12021.

Wee Hur Holdings' PBSA business is undertaken via two of its funds which manage two operational assets, one asset pending operations and the rest at various stages of development.

Metro Holdings' PBSA portfolio consists of two properties in Warwick and Bristol, in the UK, and a 7.3 per cent investment in the Mapletree Global Student Accommodation Private Trust. 

REIT Watch is a weekly column on The Business Times, read the original version.



REIT Watch - Ascott joins trend of hospitality Reits pivoting to student housing

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

David Blennerhassett

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Quiddity Advisors

Last Week in Event SPACE: Shinsei Bank, Hongkong Land, SOHO China, Bank Rakyat, Oil Search, JCNC

Singapore

Singapore Press Holdings Limited publishes, prints, and distributes newspapers and magazines. The Company also invests in properties, provides multimedia, broadcasting, and telecommunications services, manages shopping centers and other commercial properties, and operates Internet portal site.

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Singapore Press Holdings (SPH SP)

Carousell - Champion of the Circular Economy

Carousell is South-East Asia's largest classifieds marketplace which recently entered the uniform club with a valuation of US$1.1bn. It is a unique...

Angus Mackintosh

Index Rebalance & ETF Flow Recap: STO/OSH, KEP/SPH, HHI, SET50, HSTECH, HSCI

This recap highlights Insights covering the index rebalance space in Asia as well as announcements that could result in index changes. We also look...

Brian Freitas

Keppel Corp / SPH: One Step Closer to Privatisation

SPH shareholders have voted in favour of the spin-off of the media business. This paves the way for the next EGM to vote on the privatisation by...

Brian Freitas

REIT Watch - Ascott joins trend of hospitality Reits pivoting to student housing

ASCOTT Residence Trust Ascott Trust: HMN -0.51% (ART) announced last week that it will acquire a student accommodation property...

Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX)

Last Week in Event SPACE: Shinsei Bank, Hongkong Land, SOHO China, Bank Rakyat, Oil Search, JCNC

The weekend is here! Pour yourself a coffee, grab a comfortable seat, and sift through a brief summary of insights on various events discussed...

David Blennerhassett

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