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.

Event-Driven

Hyundai Construction Equipment / Event-Driven

<h2>New benchmarks for domestic equity</h2><p>The National Pension Service has disclosed the following reform plan about the direct and consignment management benchmarks for domestic stocks.</p><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/220/338/original/1.png?1627188167" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="220338"></figure></section><ul>
<li><strong>As for the direct management, the National Pension Plan plans to internally develop and use a new index called NPS-KR250 by adding additional 50 KOSPI stocks to the KOSPI 200 constituents.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Regarding the consignment management, the KOSPI + KOSDAQ 100 stocks are currently used as benchmarks. This benchmark is reorganized into KOSPI + KOSDAQ 150, with 50 KOSDAQ stocks added.</strong></li>
</ul><table class="table table-striped">
<colgroup>
<col width="100">
<col width="100">
<col width="100">
</colgroup>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 248.688px;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Benchmark"}'>Benchmark</td>
<td style="width: 170.792px;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Previous"}'>Previous</td>
<td style="width: 326.521px;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"New"}'>New</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 248.688px;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Internal (direct) management"}' data-sheets-formula="='KOSPI 200 Mirroring'!R[0]C[0]"><strong>Direct management</strong></td>
<td style="width: 170.792px;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"KOSPI 200"}'>KOSPI 200</td>
<td style="width: 326.521px;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"KOSPI 200 + KOSPI 50"}'><div><div><strong>NPS-KR250 = KOSPI 200 + additional 50 KOSPI stocks</strong></div></div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 248.688px;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Global Equity"}'><strong>Consignment management</strong></td>
<td style="width: 170.792px;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"KOSPI + KOSDAQ 100"}'>KOSPI + KOSDAQ 100</td>
<td style="width: 326.521px;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"KOSPI + KOSDAQ 150"}'><div><div><strong>KOSPI + KOSDAQ 100 + additional 50 KOSDAQ stocks</strong></div></div></td>
</tr>
<tr><td colspan="3" rowspan="1" style="width: 746px;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Source: NPS"}'>Source: NPS</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table><h2>NPS size in the local stock market</h2><p>As of the end of April 2021, the National Pension Service has ₩883.6T in assets under management, of which ₩178T is invested in domestic stocks. Considering that the market capitalization of the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets is currently around ₩2,800T, the national pension account for 6% of the Korean stock market.</p><table class="table table-striped">
<colgroup>
<col width="150">
<col width="80">
</colgroup>
<tbody>
<tr><td colspan="2" style="width: 364px;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Asset allocation status"}'>Asset allocation status as of the end-April, 2021</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 364px;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Domestic Equity"}'><strong>Domestic Equity</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: right; width: 382px;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":178014.6}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0B","3":1}'><strong>₩178.1T</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 364px;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Global Equity"}'>Global Equity</td>
<td style="text-align: right; width: 382px;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":222407.5}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0B","3":1}'>₩222.4T</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 364px;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Domestic fixed income"}'>Domestic fixed income</td>
<td style="text-align: right; width: 382px;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":340524.2}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0B","3":1}'>₩340.5T</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 364px;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Global fixed income"}'>Global fixed income</td>
<td style="text-align: right; width: 382px;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":48826.4}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0B","3":1}'>₩48.8T</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 364px;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Alternatives"}'>Alternatives</td>
<td style="text-align: right; width: 382px;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":92768.2}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0B","3":1}'>₩92.8T</td>
</tr>
<tr><td colspan="2" style="width: 364px;">Source: NPS</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table><p>The proportion of local equity is 20.17%, down slightly from the end of last year, but still far exceeding the target of 16.80% this year.</p><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/220/339/original/image_74411821721627188510268.png?1627188511" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="220339"></figure><h2>Direct vs. consignment for local equity</h2><p>As of the end of April this year, 52.03% of the funds invested in domestic stocks are direct management, then divided into active (19.43%) and passive (32.60%). The proportion of consignment management is 47.97%, and all of it is operated as active.</p><table class="table table-striped">
<colgroup>
<col width="200">
<col width="100">
<col width="100">
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<tbody>
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<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Direct vs. consignment for local equity"}'>Direct vs. consignment for local equity</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"2019 yearend"}'>2019 yearend</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Weight"}'>Weight</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"2020 yearend"}'>2020 yearend</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Weight"}'>Weight</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"April-end, 2021"}'><strong>April-end, 2021</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Weight"}'><strong>Weight</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Direct management"}'>Direct management</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":71.61210000000001}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0T","3":1}'>₩71.6T</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">55.15%</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":93.37660000000001}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0T","3":1}'>₩93.4T</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">52.95%</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":92.6208}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0T","3":1}'><strong>₩92.6T</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: right;"><strong>52.03%</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":" - Active"}'>- Active</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":26.9769}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0T","3":1}'>₩27.0T</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0.20397795151753445}' data-sheets-formula="=R[0]C[-1]/R8C2">20.40%</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":35.0249}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0T","3":1}'>₩35.0T</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0.19824502419133916}' data-sheets-formula="=R[0]C[-1]/R8C4">19.82%</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":34.58823678}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0T","3":1}'><strong>₩34.6T</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0.1943}'><strong>19.43%</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":" - Passive"}'>- Passive</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":44.6352}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0T","3":1}'>₩44.6T</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0.3374960303658113}' data-sheets-formula="=R[0]C[-1]/R8C2">33.75%</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":58.351699999999994}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0T","3":1}'>₩58.4T</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0.3302774362840654}' data-sheets-formula="=R[0]C[-1]/R8C4">33.03%</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":58.032759600000006}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0T","3":1}'><strong>₩58.0T</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0.326}'><strong>32.60%</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Consignment management"}'>Consignment management</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":60.6419}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0T","3":1}'>₩60.6T</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">45.85%</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":83.2982}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0T","3":1}'>₩83.3T</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">47.15%</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":85.3938}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0T","3":1}'><strong>₩85.4T</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: right;"><strong>47.97%</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":" - Active"}'>- Active</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":60.6419}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0T","3":1}'>₩60.6T</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0.45852601811665433}' data-sheets-formula="=R[0]C[-1]/R8C2">45.85%</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":83.2982}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0T","3":1}'>₩83.3T</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0.4714775395245955}' data-sheets-formula="=R[0]C[-1]/R8C4">47.15%</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":85.3938}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0T","3":1}'><strong>₩85.4T</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0.4797011031679424}' data-sheets-formula="=R[0]C[-1]/R8C6"><strong>47.97%</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":" - Passive"}'>- Passive</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0T","3":1}'>₩0.0T</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0}' data-sheets-formula="=R[0]C[-1]/R8C2">0.00%</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0T","3":1}'>₩0.0T</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0}' data-sheets-formula="=R[0]C[-1]/R8C4">0.00%</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0T","3":1}'><strong>₩0.0T</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":0}' data-sheets-formula="=R[0]C[-1]/R8C6"><strong>0.00%</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Total domestic Equity"}'>Total domestic equity</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":132.254}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0T","3":1}'>₩132.3T</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":1}' data-sheets-formula="=sum(R[-5]C[0]:R[-1]C[0])">100.00%</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":176.67479999999998}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0T","3":1}'>₩176.7T</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":1}' data-sheets-formula="=sum(R[-5]C[0]:R[-1]C[0])">100.00%</td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":178.0146}' data-sheets-numberformat='{"1":2,"2":"₩#,##0.0T","3":1}'><strong>₩178.0T</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: right;" data-sheets-value='{"1":3,"3":1.0000011031679423}' data-sheets-formula="=sum(R[-5]C[0]:R[-1]C[0])"><strong>100.00%</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr><td colspan="7" rowspan="1" data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Source: NPS"}'>Source: NPS</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table><p>The passively operated funds (32.60% of the total funds allocated to the domestic equity) are about ₩58T, and the benchmark is KOSPI 200. But not all amounts mechanically track the KOSPI 200. NPS employs various enhanced passive strategies, such as dividends, active quant, and factor model-based, in addition to conventional passive operations. To this end, NPS has developed and used various indices on its own since two years ago.</p>

New benchmarks for domestic equityThe National Pension Service has disclosed the following reform plan about the direct and consignment management benchmarks for domestic stocks.
As for the direct management, the National Pension Plan plans to internally develop and use a new index called NPS-KR250 by adding additional 50 KOSPI stocks to the KOSPI 200 constituents.
Regarding the consignment management, the KOSPI + KOSDAQ 100 stocks are currently used as benchmarks. This benchmark is reorganized into KOSPI + KOSDAQ 150, with 50 KOSDAQ stocks added.








Benchmark
Previous
New


Direct management
KOSPI 200
NPS-KR250 = KOSPI 200 + additional 50 KOSPI stocks


Consignment management
KOSPI + KOSDAQ 100
KOSPI + KOSDAQ 100 + additional 50 KOSDAQ stocks

Source: NPS

NPS size in the local stock marketAs of the end of April 2021, the National Pension Service has ₩883.6T in assets under management, of which ₩178T is invested in domestic stocks. Considering that the market capitalization of the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets is currently around ₩2,800T, the national pension account for 6% of the Korean stock market.





Asset allocation status as of the end-April, 2021

Domestic Equity
₩178.1T


Global Equity
₩222.4T


Domestic fixed income
₩340.5T


Global fixed income
₩48.8T


Alternatives
₩92.8T

Source: NPS

The proportion of local equity is 20.17%, down slightly from the end of last year, but still far exceeding the target of 16.80% this year.Direct vs. consignment for local equityAs of the end of April this year, 52.03% of the funds invested in domestic stocks are direct management, then divided into active (19.43%) and passive (32.60%). The proportion of consignment management is 47.97%, and all of it is operated as active.











Direct vs. consignment for local equity
2019 yearend
Weight
2020 yearend
Weight
April-end, 2021
Weight


Direct management
₩71.6T
55.15%
₩93.4T
52.95%
₩92.6T
52.03%


- Active
₩27.0T
20.40%
₩35.0T
19.82%
₩34.6T
19.43%


- Passive
₩44.6T
33.75%
₩58.4T
33.03%
₩58.0T
32.60%


Consignment management
₩60.6T
45.85%
₩83.3T
47.15%
₩85.4T
47.97%


- Active
₩60.6T
45.85%
₩83.3T
47.15%
₩85.4T
47.97%


- Passive
₩0.0T
0.00%
₩0.0T
0.00%
₩0.0T
0.00%


Total domestic equity
₩132.3T
100.00%
₩176.7T
100.00%
₩178.0T
100.00%

Source: NPS

The passively operated funds (32.60% of the total funds allocated to the domestic equity) are about ₩58T, and the benchmark is KOSPI 200. But not all amounts mechanically track the KOSPI 200. NPS employs various enhanced passive strategies, such as dividends, active quant, and factor model-based, in addition to conventional passive operations. To this end, NPS has developed and used various indices on its own since two years ago.

NPS New Benchmarks for Local Stocks: NPS-KR250 (Direct) & KOSPI+KOSDAQ 150 (Consignment)

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

Equity Bottom-Up

<p><strong>On 8 December, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/cafe24-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:25912:1" rel="noopener">Cafe24 Corp (042000 KS)</a> (Korea's Shopify) announced that it will integrate the new products uploaded to online stores in real time for Facebook users world-wide.</strong> This is a major event for Cafe24, one that could significantly increase its sales and profits. Thousands of SMEs and large companies in Korea are likely to use more services and products from Cafe24 due to this partnership program with Facebook. </p><p>In our base case valuation, we use an estimated EBITDA of 48 billion won in 2021 and apply an EV/EBITDA multiple of 19x (an average of EV/EBITDA multiples in 2020 and 2021) to derive an implied EV of 912 billion won and implied market cap of 959 billion won. This results in an implied price of 101,697 won per share, which represents a 50% upside from current levels. Given the strong upside, we have a positive view of Cafe24 at current valuation levels. </p>

On 8 December, Cafe24 Corp (042000 KS) (Korea's Shopify) announced that it will integrate the new products uploaded to online stores in real time for Facebook users world-wide. This is a major event for Cafe24, one that could significantly increase its sales and profits. Thousands of SMEs and large companies in Korea are likely to use more services and products from Cafe24 due to this partnership program with Facebook. In our base case valuation, we use an estimated EBITDA of 48 billion won in 2021 and apply an EV/EBITDA multiple of 19x (an average of EV/EBITDA multiples in 2020 and 2021) to derive an implied EV of 912 billion won and implied market cap of 959 billion won. This results in an implied price of 101,697 won per share, which represents a 50% upside from current levels. Given the strong upside, we have a positive view of Cafe24 at current valuation levels. 

Cafe24 (Korea's Shopify) Integrates Facebook Shops In Real-Time

Equity Capital Markets

<ul>
<li><strong>Our valuation analysis of Koreacenter IPO suggests that this is a bad deal. As such, we would avoid participating in this IPO.</strong></li>
<li>The comps are trading at average EV/EBITDA valuation multiples of 20.1x (2018) and 18.2x (2019E). This latter valuation multiple (18.2x) was derived using the peers' annualized EBITDA in 1H19. We then took our estimated EBITDA estimate of 28.3 billion won for Koreacenter in 2020 and applied the average EV/EBITDA multiple in 2018 (18.2x) which resulted in an implied EV of 517 billion won. <strong>This results in an implied market cap of 492 billion won, adjusting for net cash and an implied price per share of 19,166 won per share. </strong><strong>The IPO valuation range for this deal is from 24,000 won to 27,200 won.</strong>
</li>
<li>In addition, it appears that the bankers are piling the Korean IPOs in 4Q19 with some other, potentially attractive IPOs such as Lotte REIT and Hanwha Systems and it appears that many institutional investors may opt to skip on the Koreacenter IPO and focus on other IPOs with more attractive valuations unless the bankers and the company lower the IPO price range of Koreacenter substantially. </li>
</ul>


Our valuation analysis of Koreacenter IPO suggests that this is a bad deal. As such, we would avoid participating in this IPO.
The comps are trading at average EV/EBITDA valuation multiples of 20.1x (2018) and 18.2x (2019E). This latter valuation multiple (18.2x) was derived using the peers' annualized EBITDA in 1H19. We then took our estimated EBITDA estimate of 28.3 billion won for Koreacenter in 2020 and applied the average EV/EBITDA multiple in 2018 (18.2x) which resulted in an implied EV of 517 billion won. This results in an implied market cap of 492 billion won, adjusting for net cash and an implied price per share of 19,166 won per share. The IPO valuation range for this deal is from 24,000 won to 27,200 won.

In addition, it appears that the bankers are piling the Korean IPOs in 4Q19 with some other, potentially attractive IPOs such as Lotte REIT and Hanwha Systems and it appears that many institutional investors may opt to skip on the Koreacenter IPO and focus on other IPOs with more attractive valuations unless the bankers and the company lower the IPO price range of Koreacenter substantially. 


<p><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/koreacenter-com-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28329:1" rel="noopener">Koreacenter.com Co Ltd (290510 KS)</a> is getting ready to complete its IPO in the next few weeks. The IPO price range is 24,000 won to 27,200 won. The IPO base deal size is $51 million to $58 million. According to the bankers' valuation, the expected market cap after the IPO is 616 billion won to 698 billion won. The bookbuilding for the institutional investors starts on October 28th. </p>
<p>The bankers used five companies including Cafe24, Naver, Kakao, Godaddy, and Amazon as comparable companies valuation analysis. Using the company's annualized sales in 1H19 and applying the P/S multiple of 3.7x (average of the comps), this results in an implied market cap of 898 billion won. After applying an additional IPO discount of 22.3% to 31.4%, this results in an implied market cap of 617 billion won to 653 billion won or implied IPO price range of 24,000 won to 27,200 won. </p>
<p>The company has four main business units, including <strong>TailList, MakeShop, Enuri,</strong> and <strong>MallTail.</strong> In 1H19, TailList accounted for 58.9% of total sales, followed by MakeShop (17%), Enuri (8.6%), and MallTail (7.7%). TailList, which accounted for 39.4% of total sales in 2016, increased to 47.4% in 2017, and 55.3% in 2018. Koreacenter operates TailList which is one of the largest overseas direct e-commerce platforms where many Koreans purchase overseas goods online. Makeshop provides E-commerce shopping mall solutions. </p>
<p>Many investors will question the fairness of the bankers valuing this company on only P/S basis relative to its peers. This is mainly because Koreacenter generates lower profit margins versus the Korean peers and the valuation of Koreacenter could be negatively impacted if the valuation is based on P/E or EV/EBITDA basis relative to its peers. </p>

Koreacenter.com Co Ltd (290510 KS) is getting ready to complete its IPO in the next few weeks. The IPO price range is 24,000 won to 27,200 won. The IPO base deal size is $51 million to $58 million. According to the bankers' valuation, the expected market cap after the IPO is 616 billion won to 698 billion won. The bookbuilding for the institutional investors starts on October 28th. 
The bankers used five companies including Cafe24, Naver, Kakao, Godaddy, and Amazon as comparable companies valuation analysis. Using the company's annualized sales in 1H19 and applying the P/S multiple of 3.7x (average of the comps), this results in an implied market cap of 898 billion won. After applying an additional IPO discount of 22.3% to 31.4%, this results in an implied market cap of 617 billion won to 653 billion won or implied IPO price range of 24,000 won to 27,200 won. 
The company has four main business units, including TailList, MakeShop, Enuri, and MallTail. In 1H19, TailList accounted for 58.9% of total sales, followed by MakeShop (17%), Enuri (8.6%), and MallTail (7.7%). TailList, which accounted for 39.4% of total sales in 2016, increased to 47.4% in 2017, and 55.3% in 2018. Koreacenter operates TailList which is one of the largest overseas direct e-commerce platforms where many Koreans purchase overseas goods online. Makeshop provides E-commerce shopping mall solutions. 
Many investors will question the fairness of the bankers valuing this company on only P/S basis relative to its peers. This is mainly because Koreacenter generates lower profit margins versus the Korean peers and the valuation of Koreacenter could be negatively impacted if the valuation is based on P/E or EV/EBITDA basis relative to its peers. 

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>On August 22nd, the South Korean government announced that it has decided to terminate the <strong>GSOMIA</strong> (General Security of Military Information Agreement) with the Japanese government. As a result of the South Korean government's decision to terminate GSOMIA, this will likely to further fuel the discord the political relations between Japan and South Korea and the Korean stock market is likely to face further weakness, especially companies that are negatively impacted by this conflict.</li>
<li>
<strong>Cho Kuk</strong> has been the most discussed person in South Korea in the past two weeks. He is a nominee to become the next Justice Minister in South Korea. However, he and his family/relatives have been mired in numerous allegations which could make it difficult for him to become the next Justice Minister. On August 27th, the<a href="http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20190827000730" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> government prosecutors</a> raided universities, a medical center and other facilities to investigate Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk and his family.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/profiles/brian-freitas" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="accounts:4091" rel="noopener">Brian Freitas</a> puts out a weekly on the Japan short interest data. The short notional in the market for the week ended 23 August is US$24.95bn with the largest short positions in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/itochu-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18448:1" rel="noopener">Itochu Corp (8001 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/toyota-motor-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:73:1" rel="noopener">Toyota Motor (7203 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/canon-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1:1" rel="noopener">Canon Inc (7751 JP)</a>,  <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/taiyo-yuden-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9924:1" rel="noopener">Taiyo Yuden (6976 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sumitomo-mitsui-financial-gr" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:217:1" rel="noopener">Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (8316 JP)</a>. Most shorted stocks as a percentage of free float are Amazia, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/extreme-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:5311:1" rel="noopener">Extreme Co Ltd (6033 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/taiyo-yuden-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9924:1" rel="noopener">Taiyo Yuden (6976 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/leopalace21-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8244:1" rel="noopener">Leopalace21 Corp (8848 JP)</a>. </li>
<li>
<strong>MEGVII TECHNOLOGY IPO</strong> - <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/profiles/arun-george" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="accounts:1680" rel="noopener">Arun George</a> wrote about this company in his note, <strong><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/megvii-ipo-initiation-anonymous-no-more" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:32041" rel="noopener">Megvii IPO Initiation: Anonymous No More</a></strong>. <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/megvii-technology" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28272:1" rel="noopener">Megvii Technology (1737211D HK)</a> is a Chinese AI company best known for its facial recognition platform Face++. It is backed by Ant Financial (15.1% shareholder), <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/alibaba-group-holding-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:787:1" rel="noopener">Alibaba Group Holding (BABA US)</a> (14.3% shareholder) and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/lenovo-group-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13359:1" rel="noopener">Lenovo (992 HK)</a> (1.2% shareholder). Overall, Arun believes Megvii is a decent “new economy” growth story as the positives outweigh the negatives. </li>
</ul>


On August 22nd, the South Korean government announced that it has decided to terminate the GSOMIA (General Security of Military Information Agreement) with the Japanese government. As a result of the South Korean government's decision to terminate GSOMIA, this will likely to further fuel the discord the political relations between Japan and South Korea and the Korean stock market is likely to face further weakness, especially companies that are negatively impacted by this conflict.

Cho Kuk has been the most discussed person in South Korea in the past two weeks. He is a nominee to become the next Justice Minister in South Korea. However, he and his family/relatives have been mired in numerous allegations which could make it difficult for him to become the next Justice Minister. On August 27th, the government prosecutors raided universities, a medical center and other facilities to investigate Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk and his family.

Brian Freitas puts out a weekly on the Japan short interest data. The short notional in the market for the week ended 23 August is US$24.95bn with the largest short positions in Itochu Corp (8001 JP), Toyota Motor (7203 JP), Canon Inc (7751 JP),  Taiyo Yuden (6976 JP) and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (8316 JP). Most shorted stocks as a percentage of free float are Amazia, Extreme Co Ltd (6033 JP), Taiyo Yuden (6976 JP) and Leopalace21 Corp (8848 JP). 

MEGVII TECHNOLOGY IPO - Arun George wrote about this company in his note, Megvii IPO Initiation: Anonymous No More. Megvii Technology (1737211D HK) is a Chinese AI company best known for its facial recognition platform Face++. It is backed by Ant Financial (15.1% shareholder), Alibaba Group Holding (BABA US) (14.3% shareholder) and Lenovo (992 HK) (1.2% shareholder). Overall, Arun believes Megvii is a decent “new economy” growth story as the positives outweigh the negatives. 


The Week That Was @ Smartkarma in Korea, Japan, China/HK: Megvii, GSOMIA, Cho Kuk, & Sony

South Korea

Cafe24 Corp. provides electronic commerce services. The Company offers web hosting, server hosting, e-commerce hosting, e-commerce marketing consulting, and other web services. Cafe24 provides services worldwide.

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