Financials & FinTech research, Galliano’s Financials Research

Victor Galliano

Financials & FinTech research

Financials & FinTech, EM & Developed Markets

Galliano’s Financials Research

Galliano's Financials Research provides fundamental research in Emerging Markets financials, including FinTech, as well as financials in select Developed Markets.

The investment style applied is generally value oriented, although Growth At Reasonable Price (GARP) strategies can also be used where appropriate. 

Our investment research approach aim is often contrarian, looking to capitalise on overly sceptical or optimistic consensus views. In terms of valuation techniques, the focus is on PBV ratio to ROE, PE multiples and dividend yield, as well as the application of PEG ratios and, where appropriate, Sum of the Parts (SOTP) valuations.

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ant-group-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24240:1" rel="noopener">Ant Financial Services Group (6688 HK)</a> is restructuring its business holdings, with at its core the setting up of a financial holding company</li>
<li>In addition, Ant will return to its roots in the payments division, it will set up a personal credit reporting company as well as establishing a consumer finance company</li>
<li>The official press release does not mention the investmentech arm that includes Ant’s in-house asset manager, but there is financial press speculation that it may be required to shrink its asset base</li>
<li>In essence, the new structure and more intrusive regulation will limit Ant’s ability to extract synergies from its – previously – tight knit financial eco-system, which can only hurt its potential develop further economies of scale and deliver premium revenue and earnings growth</li>
<li>It is also likely that in its consumer credit business it will need to retain a higher proportion of loans originated, thereby necessitating higher capital levels; the personal credit reporting company will also provide PBoC with access to Ant’s “big data” on payments, credit and other financial products</li>
<li>Despite the need for further clarity on the regulatory structure going forward, as well as the lack of any updated Ant financials to December 2020, we have arrived at a revised valuation range for Ant, based on our pre-money SOTP, of USD122-144bn</li>
<li>The regulator’s focus on big FinTech in China and especially Ant is constructive for the prospects of other less dominant non-bank financial companies (NBFCs) in China, such as <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/lexinfintech-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26036:1" rel="noopener">Lexinfintech Holdings (LX US)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/lufax-holdings" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:29690:1" rel="noopener">Lufax Holdings (LU US)</a>, as well as retail focused banks like <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/postal-savings-bank-of-china" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22848:1" rel="noopener">Postal Savings Bank of China (1658 HK)</a> </li>
<li>Risks to our cautious view on Ant include an ability for management to navigate the climate of tighter regulatory constraints and to deliver better than expected premium growth and returns from its digital financial platform</li>
</ul>



Ant Financial Services Group (6688 HK) is restructuring its business holdings, with at its core the setting up of a financial holding company
In addition, Ant will return to its roots in the payments division, it will set up a personal credit reporting company as well as establishing a consumer finance company
The official press release does not mention the investmentech arm that includes Ant’s in-house asset manager, but there is financial press speculation that it may be required to shrink its asset base
In essence, the new structure and more intrusive regulation will limit Ant’s ability to extract synergies from its – previously – tight knit financial eco-system, which can only hurt its potential develop further economies of scale and deliver premium revenue and earnings growth
It is also likely that in its consumer credit business it will need to retain a higher proportion of loans originated, thereby necessitating higher capital levels; the personal credit reporting company will also provide PBoC with access to Ant’s “big data” on payments, credit and other financial products
Despite the need for further clarity on the regulatory structure going forward, as well as the lack of any updated Ant financials to December 2020, we have arrived at a revised valuation range for Ant, based on our pre-money SOTP, of USD122-144bn
The regulator’s focus on big FinTech in China and especially Ant is constructive for the prospects of other less dominant non-bank financial companies (NBFCs) in China, such as Lexinfintech Holdings (LX US) and Lufax Holdings (LU US), as well as retail focused banks like Postal Savings Bank of China (1658 HK) 
Risks to our cautious view on Ant include an ability for management to navigate the climate of tighter regulatory constraints and to deliver better than expected premium growth and returns from its digital financial platform


Equity Research in HK and Mainland China

Li Tang

Alibaba Group Holding  / Equity Bottom-Up

The PBOC, CBIRC, CSRC, and SAFE summoned Ant Group for a second joint meeting, ordering the fintech giant to rectify its business operations so that it is compliant with regulations and law. This also includes serving the real economy and supporting national development strategies.

The PBOC, CBIRC, CSRC, and SAFE summoned Ant Group for a second joint meeting, ordering the fintech giant to rectify its business operations so that it is compliant with regulations and law. This also includes serving the real economy and supporting national development strategies.

PBOC Summon Ant Group On Restructuring Once More

Equity Analyst, LightStream Research

Shifara Samsudeen, ACMA, CGMA

Equity Analyst

Long-Short Analysis on Japan, Asia and the World

LightStream Research

LightStream conducts quantitatively rigorous and data-driven analysis with a focus on Japan and Asia.

We consistently cover the Tech, Consumer and Industrial sectors, and provide ECM and Events coverage more broadly.

We supplement traditional qualitative insights from company relationships with a robust quantitative foundation that examines as much historical data as is available.
We further refine the accuracy of our insights and calls through the use of alternative data to flesh out current trends, and through a valuation framework that emphasises non-superficial peer group selection and a proper attempt to understand the metrics and changes that have driven security valuations in the past.

Event-Driven

The ride-hailing giant <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/grabtaxi-holdings-pte-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26950:1" rel="noopener">Grab (0967655D SP)</a>  announced on Tuesday (13th April 2021) that it plans to go public in the US via a SPAC merger with <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/altimeter-growth-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:33007:1" rel="noopener">Altimeter Growth Corp (AGC US)</a>  at a proposed valuation (pro-forma) of approx. US$39.6bn.As per the proposed transaction, Altimeter Growth and Grab will become wholly-owned subsidiaries of a new holding company and the combined company will have an equity-value of approx. US$39.6bn on a pro-forma basis.Grab will receive about US$4.5bn in cash, including more than US$4.0bn from a fully committed PIPE (private investment in public equity arrangement) offering that will be managed by BlackRock, Counterpoint Global, T.Rowe Price Associates, Fidelity International, Fidelity Management and Research, Mubadala, Temasek and several others.<figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/200/522/original/image_77815607321618386359074.png?1618386363" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="200522"></figure><div style="text-align: left;" class="content-caption">Source: Company disclosures</div>Altimeter Capital has committed to US$750m to the PIPE Financing and also also has committed to a 3-year lock-up period for its sponsor promote shares offering investors confidence over Grab’s future prospects.

The ride-hailing giant Grab (0967655D SP)  announced on Tuesday (13th April 2021) that it plans to go public in the US via a SPAC merger with Altimeter Growth Corp (AGC US)  at a proposed valuation (pro-forma) of approx. US$39.6bn.As per the proposed transaction, Altimeter Growth and Grab will become wholly-owned subsidiaries of a new holding company and the combined company will have an equity-value of approx. US$39.6bn on a pro-forma basis.Grab will receive about US$4.5bn in cash, including more than US$4.0bn from a fully committed PIPE (private investment in public equity arrangement) offering that will be managed by BlackRock, Counterpoint Global, T.Rowe Price Associates, Fidelity International, Fidelity Management and Research, Mubadala, Temasek and several others.Source: Company disclosuresAltimeter Capital has committed to US$750m to the PIPE Financing and also also has committed to a 3-year lock-up period for its sponsor promote shares offering investors confidence over Grab’s future prospects.

Grab Goes Public: Expanding Top Line but No Profits; Proposed Valuation Seems Excessively Ambitious

Overseas Chinese Equities, Aequitas Research

Ming Lu

Overseas Chinese Equities

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.

<ul>
<li>Tencent raised its online TV subscription fees by 17%~50%.</li>
<li>The fundamental cause is the loss in online TV, but the direct cause is competitor iQiyi raised the fees last November.</li>
<li>We believe Tencent’s operating margin will improve slightly in 2021.</li>
<li>We also believe the stock price will have an upside of 19% by the end of 2021.</li>
</ul>
Our previous coverage on Tencent:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/tencent-700-hk-q4-promising-in-all-businesses-price-down-upgrade-to-buy-again" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:49622" rel="noopener">Tencent (700 HK): Q4, Promising in All Businesses, Price Down, Upgrade to Buy Again</a></li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/tencent-700-hk-price-surged-time-to-look-at-negative-industry-data" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:48272" rel="noopener"></a><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/2021-high-conviction-long-tencent-as-all-competitors-are-in-trouble" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:46087" rel="noopener">2021 High Conviction: Long Tencent as All Competitors Are in Trouble</a>
</li>
</ul>


Tencent raised its online TV subscription fees by 17%~50%.
The fundamental cause is the loss in online TV, but the direct cause is competitor iQiyi raised the fees last November.
We believe Tencent’s operating margin will improve slightly in 2021.
We also believe the stock price will have an upside of 19% by the end of 2021.

Our previous coverage on Tencent:

Tencent (700 HK): Q4, Promising in All Businesses, Price Down, Upgrade to Buy Again

2021 High Conviction: Long Tencent as All Competitors Are in Trouble



Tencent (700 HK): Raises Subscription Fees for Online TV

Oshadhi Kumarasiri

Just days after <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/alibaba-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28434:1" rel="noopener">Alibaba Group (9988 HK)</a> was hit with a record US$2.8bn fine for breaching China’s antitrust regulations, The People's Bank of China announced yesterday that Alibaba affiliate, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ant-group-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24240:1" rel="noopener">Ant Financial Services Group (6688 HK)</a> has agreed to restructure its business lines and become a financial holding company with regulatory oversight from PBOC and minimum capital requirements.The settlement of these two issues signals an end to most of Alibaba’s regulatory overhang that resulted in Alibaba’s underperformance compared to its peers since November 2020. Having said that, we feel Jack Ma Vs Xi saga is nowhere near the end (Last month the government asked Alibaba to dispose its media assets) and Xi and the Communist Party will continue to curtail the power of Chinese tech companies at every chance they get.

Just days after Alibaba Group (9988 HK) was hit with a record US$2.8bn fine for breaching China’s antitrust regulations, The People's Bank of China announced yesterday that Alibaba affiliate, Ant Financial Services Group (6688 HK) has agreed to restructure its business lines and become a financial holding company with regulatory oversight from PBOC and minimum capital requirements.The settlement of these two issues signals an end to most of Alibaba’s regulatory overhang that resulted in Alibaba’s underperformance compared to its peers since November 2020. Having said that, we feel Jack Ma Vs Xi saga is nowhere near the end (Last month the government asked Alibaba to dispose its media assets) and Xi and the Communist Party will continue to curtail the power of Chinese tech companies at every chance they get.

Ant Group Overhaul: Difficult to Rule Out Further Government Interventions

China

Alibaba Group Holding Limited provides online sales services. The Company provides internet infrastructure, electronic commerce, online financial, and internet content services through its subsidiaries. Alibaba Group Holding offers its products and services worldwide.

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Alibaba Group Holding (9988 HK)

Ant Group: Nearing Regulatory Closure

Ant Group is restructuring its operations, under PBoC pressure which will limit Ant’s ability to extract synergies from its entire financial...

Victor Galliano

PBOC Summon Ant Group On Restructuring Once More

The regulators' tone suggests they have been unhappy with progress made since their first joint meeting in January.This time the regulators were...

Li Tang

Grab Goes Public: Expanding Top Line but No Profits; Proposed Valuation Seems Excessively Ambitious

Grab announced on Tuesday that it plans to go public in the US via a SPAC merger with Altimeter Growth Corp. at a proposed valuation (pro-forma) of...

Shifara Samsudeen, ACMA, CGMA

Tencent (700 HK): Raises Subscription Fees for Online TV

Tencent raised its online TV subscription fees by 17%~50%. The fundamental cause is the loss in online TV, but the direct cause is competitor iQiyi...

Ming Lu

Ant Group Overhaul: Difficult to Rule Out Further Government Interventions

On a long-term basis, we are reluctant to buy Alibaba at current prices as we believe the Chinese government’s effort to curtail the power of tech...

Oshadhi Kumarasiri

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