Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

David Blennerhassett

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Quiddity Advisors

Event-Driven

NTT (Nippon Telegraph & Telephone) / Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/nippon-telegraph-telephone-corporation" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:623:1" rel="noopener">NTT (9432 JP)</a> sees a US$1bn selldown of shares on 29 December, due to a weird quirk in the way TOPIX and JPX Nikkei 400 are constructed and managed.</li>
<li>China's State Administration for Market Supervision is reviewing <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/razer-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24380:1" rel="noopener">Razer (1337 HK)</a>'s privatisation as a simple case. With the key regulatory pre-condition all but satisfied, the Scheme timeline will significantly shorten. </li>
<li>The trade is to be long the back end of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/shinsei-bank-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:16897:1" rel="noopener">Shinsei Bank (8303 JP)</a>'s Tender Offer. BUY Shinsei Bank shares - outright, and vs large Japanese banks with higher PBRs. </li>
</ul>



NTT (9432 JP) sees a US$1bn selldown of shares on 29 December, due to a weird quirk in the way TOPIX and JPX Nikkei 400 are constructed and managed.
China's State Administration for Market Supervision is reviewing Razer (1337 HK)'s privatisation as a simple case. With the key regulatory pre-condition all but satisfied, the Scheme timeline will significantly shorten. 
The trade is to be long the back end of Shinsei Bank (8303 JP)'s Tender Offer. BUY Shinsei Bank shares - outright, and vs large Japanese banks with higher PBRs. 


Last Week in Event SPACE: NTT, Razer, Shinsei Bank, Evergrande, Bank of Kyoto, Nippon Express

Travis Lundy

<ul>
<li>In late May 2021 I wrote <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/bank-of-kyoto-8369-a-deeply-discounted-holdco-which-will-likely-not-monetize" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:52111" rel="noopener">Bank of Kyoto (8369) - A Deeply Discounted Holdco Which Will Likely Not Monetize</a>. I discussed valuation and appropriate portfolio and business discounting methodologies.</li>
<li>I followed up in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/bank-of-kyoto-8369-cheaper-now" target="_blank" rel="noopener">July</a> suggesting it might be a buy at the bottom of the recent discount range, but that the model required External Pressure to get BIG gains.</li>
<li>Yesterday, 21 months after the current Mid-Term Management Plan upped target payout ratio from 25% to 30%, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/bank-of-kyoto" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:5248:1" rel="noopener">Bank of Kyoto (8369 JP)</a> raised target payout ratio to 50%.</li>
</ul>


In late May 2021 I wrote Bank of Kyoto (8369) - A Deeply Discounted Holdco Which Will Likely Not Monetize. I discussed valuation and appropriate portfolio and business discounting methodologies.
I followed up in July suggesting it might be a buy at the bottom of the recent discount range, but that the model required External Pressure to get BIG gains.
Yesterday, 21 months after the current Mid-Term Management Plan upped target payout ratio from 25% to 30%, Bank of Kyoto (8369 JP) raised target payout ratio to 50%.


Bank of Kyoto (8369 JP) Raises Payout Ratio - But It's a Complicated Risk Model

Senior Bank Analyst - Japanese Banks, Windamee Research

J. Brian Waterhouse

Senior Bank Analyst - Japanese Banks

Windamee Research

Japanese Banks

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

Data for May 2021 from both the Japanese Bankers Association (JBA) and the Bank of Japan (BoJ) confirm that YoY loan growth for Japanese commercial banks continues to fall, led by the major banks where YoY loan growth is now in negative territory.  Loan growth at all banks fell to just +0.5% YoY at the end of May, according to the JBA (April was +2.6% YoY).  We expect that June data (to be released in mid-July) from the JBA and BoJ may reveal overall YoY loan growth is heading for the zero-level.January through mid-March saw an unusually strong rally in bank shares, in line with trends in other global stock markets.  The Topix Banks Index peaked at 162.08 on 19 March 2021  -  just 4 days after the notorious Ides of March ‘turning-point’ that we have often referred to in Smartkarma Insights on Japanese banks’ share price performance  -  and has softened to the 145 level.  The sector’s surprise outperformance of Topix in CY2021 has been undermined by a sub-par June performance and on a longer-term view (as we show at the end of this Insight) and despite this year’s rally the sector remains a disappointing investment against the broader Topix Index.<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> is the best performer of the major banks so far this year: up +33.6% over the last six months.  That said, this pales in comparison with bank stocks in other markets such as the US and Europe, where economies are recovering from the coronavirus pandemic and there are rising hopes of a mild steepening of the yield curve.  Meanwhile, despite greater concentration on boosting fee income and lowering overheads, many Japan’s banks remain seemingly unable to fully offset the adverse effects of the near-zero interest rate environment on domestic earnings.“Caveat Emptor!” (May the Buyer Beware) remains our advice to would-be investors in Japanese bank stocks for the remainder of 2021 and beyond.<section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/215/895/original/8300-WR-JBanks-2021-0628-ZeroSheFlies-TPNBNKvsTPXin2021.jpg?1624939811" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="215895"></figure></section>

Data for May 2021 from both the Japanese Bankers Association (JBA) and the Bank of Japan (BoJ) confirm that YoY loan growth for Japanese commercial banks continues to fall, led by the major banks where YoY loan growth is now in negative territory.  Loan growth at all banks fell to just +0.5% YoY at the end of May, according to the JBA (April was +2.6% YoY).  We expect that June data (to be released in mid-July) from the JBA and BoJ may reveal overall YoY loan growth is heading for the zero-level.January through mid-March saw an unusually strong rally in bank shares, in line with trends in other global stock markets.  The Topix Banks Index peaked at 162.08 on 19 March 2021  -  just 4 days after the notorious Ides of March ‘turning-point’ that we have often referred to in Smartkarma Insights on Japanese banks’ share price performance  -  and has softened to the 145 level.  The sector’s surprise outperformance of Topix in CY2021 has been undermined by a sub-par June performance and on a longer-term view (as we show at the end of this Insight) and despite this year’s rally the sector remains a disappointing investment against the broader Topix Index.Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (MUFG) (8306 JP) is the best performer of the major banks so far this year: up +33.6% over the last six months.  That said, this pales in comparison with bank stocks in other markets such as the US and Europe, where economies are recovering from the coronavirus pandemic and there are rising hopes of a mild steepening of the yield curve.  Meanwhile, despite greater concentration on boosting fee income and lowering overheads, many Japan’s banks remain seemingly unable to fully offset the adverse effects of the near-zero interest rate environment on domestic earnings.“Caveat Emptor!” (May the Buyer Beware) remains our advice to would-be investors in Japanese bank stocks for the remainder of 2021 and beyond.

Equity Bottom-Up

Prestidigitation, or sleight of hand, is what stage magicians use to create their illusions, to the delight of the onlookers who are beguiled into looking elsewhere at a crucial moment in the conjuring trick when they might otherwise spot what the ‘magician’ is really doing.FY3/2021 results for <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hachijuni-bank-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:20244:1" rel="noopener">Hachijuni Bank (8359 JP)</a> are, at first glance, impressive.  In difficult trading conditions, consolidated net profits sailed past the bank’s guidance by over 24% to ¥22.3 billion (a +1.4% YoY improvement over FY3/2020).  Management has generously raised the final dividend by 33% from ¥6/share to ¥8/share. But this was simply continuing a dividend policy that management has practiced most years since FY3/2017: a ¥6/share interim dividend and an ¥8/share final dividend.  Let us not forget that guidance for FY3/2021 was withheld by management until 30 October 2020, so well into the financial year.  And bottom-line profits relied heavily on ¥6.3 billion in 2nd Half gains from  ‘selling the family silver’, namely realizing gains on part of the bank’s share portfolio as global stock markets fortuitously rose.  Moreover, trading gains of ¥9.9 billion were needed to offset a six-fold rise in credit costs from ¥1.4 billion to ¥9.3 billion because the bank’s collection of non-performing loans rose by 29.3% to ¥101.1 billion in a single year: primarily in loans in ‘high risk’ categories.  The quality of reported profits is indeed strained.In terms of balance-sheet efficiency, the bank’s return on assets (RoA) has deteriorated further to just 20bps, while its return on equity (RoE) is a risible 2.70%.  With flat profits being forecast for FY3/2022, and trading on an unremarkable PER of 8.1x, there are far better investments in the Japanese banking sector than this.  For those who are not yet holders of Hachijuni Bank stock but may have noticed the apparent strong recovery in the bank’s profitability according to its FY3/2021 financial statements, our position is clear: Caveat emptor! (May the buyer beware!)

Prestidigitation, or sleight of hand, is what stage magicians use to create their illusions, to the delight of the onlookers who are beguiled into looking elsewhere at a crucial moment in the conjuring trick when they might otherwise spot what the ‘magician’ is really doing.FY3/2021 results for Hachijuni Bank (8359 JP) are, at first glance, impressive.  In difficult trading conditions, consolidated net profits sailed past the bank’s guidance by over 24% to ¥22.3 billion (a +1.4% YoY improvement over FY3/2020).  Management has generously raised the final dividend by 33% from ¥6/share to ¥8/share. But this was simply continuing a dividend policy that management has practiced most years since FY3/2017: a ¥6/share interim dividend and an ¥8/share final dividend.  Let us not forget that guidance for FY3/2021 was withheld by management until 30 October 2020, so well into the financial year.  And bottom-line profits relied heavily on ¥6.3 billion in 2nd Half gains from  ‘selling the family silver’, namely realizing gains on part of the bank’s share portfolio as global stock markets fortuitously rose.  Moreover, trading gains of ¥9.9 billion were needed to offset a six-fold rise in credit costs from ¥1.4 billion to ¥9.3 billion because the bank’s collection of non-performing loans rose by 29.3% to ¥101.1 billion in a single year: primarily in loans in ‘high risk’ categories.  The quality of reported profits is indeed strained.In terms of balance-sheet efficiency, the bank’s return on assets (RoA) has deteriorated further to just 20bps, while its return on equity (RoE) is a risible 2.70%.  With flat profits being forecast for FY3/2022, and trading on an unremarkable PER of 8.1x, there are far better investments in the Japanese banking sector than this.  For those who are not yet holders of Hachijuni Bank stock but may have noticed the apparent strong recovery in the bank’s profitability according to its FY3/2021 financial statements, our position is clear: Caveat emptor! (May the buyer beware!)  

Hachijuni Bank (8359 JP):  A Case of Prestidigitation?

Concordia Financial Group, Ltd / Equity Bottom-Up

<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/concordia-financial-group-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22704:1" rel="noopener">Concordia Financial Group, Ltd (7186 JP)</a>, or CFG, has slashed its FY3/3021 guidance by 36.7% to ¥25.3 billion and is now expecting EPS of just ¥20.97 against previous guidance of ¥33.15.  There are two principal causes: writing down an investment in a bear fund that went dramatically wrong in a rising market to the tune of ¥16.1 billion; and a significant increase in credit costs of ¥9.0 billion, largely at subsidiary Higashi-Nippon Bank (HNPB).Lingering investor memories of past management scandals and disappointing financial performance at HNPB in particular have caused CFG to significantly underperform its peers over the last 12 months, with its stock price up only +23.5% against an average of 35.5% for the other Top 5 regional banks in terms of market capitalisation.Yet aggregate foreign ownership in CFG remains high at around 31.5%.  Foreign investors view CFG as a liquid alternative to the ‘crowded trade’ of simply buying megabanks for exposure to the Japanese financial sector.  Moreover, CFG offers a cash dividend payment policy of 33% of net profits, a total shareholder return policy target of 50%, conducts frequent share buybacks, and regularly cancels part of its Treasury Stock to boost overall shareholder returns.  Even so, within the regional banking sector, we much prefer <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/chiba-bank-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1048:1" rel="noopener">Chiba Bank (8331 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/iyo-bank-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6869:1" rel="noopener">Iyo Bank (8385 JP)</a> for their strong management and stable fundamentals, or <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/bank-of-kyoto-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:5248:1" rel="noopener">Bank Of Kyoto (8369 JP)</a> as an interesting thematic play.

Concordia Financial Group, Ltd (7186 JP), or CFG, has slashed its FY3/3021 guidance by 36.7% to ¥25.3 billion and is now expecting EPS of just ¥20.97 against previous guidance of ¥33.15.  There are two principal causes: writing down an investment in a bear fund that went dramatically wrong in a rising market to the tune of ¥16.1 billion; and a significant increase in credit costs of ¥9.0 billion, largely at subsidiary Higashi-Nippon Bank (HNPB).Lingering investor memories of past management scandals and disappointing financial performance at HNPB in particular have caused CFG to significantly underperform its peers over the last 12 months, with its stock price up only +23.5% against an average of 35.5% for the other Top 5 regional banks in terms of market capitalisation.Yet aggregate foreign ownership in CFG remains high at around 31.5%.  Foreign investors view CFG as a liquid alternative to the ‘crowded trade’ of simply buying megabanks for exposure to the Japanese financial sector.  Moreover, CFG offers a cash dividend payment policy of 33% of net profits, a total shareholder return policy target of 50%, conducts frequent share buybacks, and regularly cancels part of its Treasury Stock to boost overall shareholder returns.  Even so, within the regional banking sector, we much prefer Chiba Bank (8331 JP) and Iyo Bank (8385 JP) for their strong management and stable fundamentals, or Bank Of Kyoto (8369 JP) as an interesting thematic play.

Concordia Financial Group (7186 JP): Asset Quality Issues

Japan

The Bank of Kyoto, Ltd. is a regional bank in Kyoto.  The Bank provides banking services including deposits, savings, loans, foreign exchange transactions, and securities investments.  The Bank of Kyoto also provides financial services such as letter of credit, leasing, loans, and credit cards.

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Bank of Kyoto (8369 JP)

Last Week in Event SPACE: NTT, Razer, Shinsei Bank, Evergrande, Bank of Kyoto, Nippon Express

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