Japan/Asia Long-Short, LightStream Research

Mio Kato

Japan/Asia Long-Short

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.

Equity Bottom-Up

<p>The FA sector has enjoyed a few strong quarters as COVID helped kickstart an earnings upcycle that was about due regardless. Despite this, stock prices have been flattish or weak for most names this year excluding the invincible Keyence. While peer Yaskawa upgraded its earnings guidance when it reported we have some concerns about Fanuc.</p>

The FA sector has enjoyed a few strong quarters as COVID helped kickstart an earnings upcycle that was about due regardless. Despite this, stock prices have been flattish or weak for most names this year excluding the invincible Keyence. While peer Yaskawa upgraded its earnings guidance when it reported we have some concerns about Fanuc.

Fanuc – Could There Be a Shock Downgrade?

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

Shanghai MicroPort MedBot Group / Equity Capital Markets

<p>Shanghai MicroPort MedBot Group (MM), a surgical robot company, aims to raise up to US$200m in its Hong Kong IPO.</p><p>MicroPort MedBot (MM) is a surgical robot company which designs, develops and commercializes surgical robots to assist surgeons in performing complex surgical procedures. It is the only company with a product portfolio covering the five major and fast-growing surgical specialties of laparoscopic, orthopedic, panvascular, natural orifice and percutaneous surgical procedures, as per Frost &amp; Sullivan (F&amp;S).</p><p>We have looked at the company’s background and products in our earlier notes:</p><ul>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/microport-medbot-pre-ipo-robodoc-pre-revenue-has-a-large-competitor-but-a-large-market-as-well" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MicroPort MedBot Pre-IPO - RoboDoc - pre-revenue, has a large competitor but a large market as well</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/microport-medbot-pre-ipo-robodoc-phip-updates-and-a-look-at-its-largest-competitor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MicroPort MedBot Pre-IPO - RoboDoc - PHIP Updates and a Look at Its Largest Competitor, and</a></li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/microport-medbot-pre-ipo-thoughts-on-valuation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MicroPort MedBot Pre-IPO - Thoughts on valuation</a></li>
</ul><p>In this note, we will run the deal through our ECM framework and comment on valuations.</p>

Shanghai MicroPort MedBot Group (MM), a surgical robot company, aims to raise up to US$200m in its Hong Kong IPO.MicroPort MedBot (MM) is a surgical robot company which designs, develops and commercializes surgical robots to assist surgeons in performing complex surgical procedures. It is the only company with a product portfolio covering the five major and fast-growing surgical specialties of laparoscopic, orthopedic, panvascular, natural orifice and percutaneous surgical procedures, as per Frost &amp; Sullivan (F&amp;S).We have looked at the company’s background and products in our earlier notes:
MicroPort MedBot Pre-IPO - RoboDoc - pre-revenue, has a large competitor but a large market as well
MicroPort MedBot Pre-IPO - RoboDoc - PHIP Updates and a Look at Its Largest Competitor, and
MicroPort MedBot Pre-IPO - Thoughts on valuation
In this note, we will run the deal through our ECM framework and comment on valuations.

MicroPort MedBot Pre-IPO - Valuation Appears Reasonable but Sentiment Will Weigh

<div><p>MicroPort MedBot (MM), a surgical robot company, aims to raise up to US$1bn in its Hong Kong IPO. It is a subsidiary of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/microport-scientific-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:4487:1" rel="noopener">Microport Scientific (853 HK)</a> and is backed by Hillhouse and other  mainly domestic investors.</p></div><div><p>MicroPort MedBot (MM) is a surgical robot company which designs, develops and commercializes surgical robots to assist surgeons in performing complex surgical procedures. It is the only company with a product portfolio covering the five major and fast-growing surgical specialties of laparoscopic, orthopedic, panvascular, natural orifice and percutaneous surgical procedures, as per Frost &amp; Sullivan (F&amp;S).</p></div><div><p>Its flagship products, Toumai Laparoscopic Surgical Robot, DFVision 3D Electronic Laparoscope and Honghu Orthopedic Surgical Robot, have all been admitted to the NMPA’s Green Path. Toumai and Honghu are at or near the registration approval stage, and DFVision has recently received NMPA approval.</p></div><div><p>We have looked at the company’s background and products in our earlier notes, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/microport-medbot-pre-ipo-robodoc-pre-revenue-has-a-large-competitor-but-a-large-market-as-well" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MicroPort MedBot Pre-IPO - RoboDoc - pre-revenue, has a large competitor but a large market as well</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/microport-medbot-pre-ipo-robodoc-phip-updates-and-a-look-at-its-largest-competitor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MicroPort MedBot Pre-IPO - RoboDoc - PHIP Updates and a Look at Its Largest Competitor</a>.</p></div><div><p>In this note, we will talk about valuations.</p></div>

MicroPort MedBot (MM), a surgical robot company, aims to raise up to US$1bn in its Hong Kong IPO. It is a subsidiary of Microport Scientific (853 HK) and is backed by Hillhouse and other  mainly domestic investors.MicroPort MedBot (MM) is a surgical robot company which designs, develops and commercializes surgical robots to assist surgeons in performing complex surgical procedures. It is the only company with a product portfolio covering the five major and fast-growing surgical specialties of laparoscopic, orthopedic, panvascular, natural orifice and percutaneous surgical procedures, as per Frost &amp; Sullivan (F&amp;S).Its flagship products, Toumai Laparoscopic Surgical Robot, DFVision 3D Electronic Laparoscope and Honghu Orthopedic Surgical Robot, have all been admitted to the NMPA’s Green Path. Toumai and Honghu are at or near the registration approval stage, and DFVision has recently received NMPA approval.We have looked at the company’s background and products in our earlier notes, MicroPort MedBot Pre-IPO - RoboDoc - pre-revenue, has a large competitor but a large market as well and MicroPort MedBot Pre-IPO - RoboDoc - PHIP Updates and a Look at Its Largest Competitor.In this note, we will talk about valuations.

MicroPort MedBot Pre-IPO - Thoughts on Valuation

<p>Keyence has been our boring top pick within the factory automation sector for some time and has boringly and consistently outperformed peers. We still consider it the highest quality name within the sector but given valuations, we are reluctantly disembarking here.</p>

Keyence has been our boring top pick within the factory automation sector for some time and has boringly and consistently outperformed peers. We still consider it the highest quality name within the sector but given valuations, we are reluctantly disembarking here.

Keyence – Time to Step Off and Some Warning Signs for Markets

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

Travis Lundy

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Quiddity Advisors

Event-Driven

<p>A few years ago I started this series, and I updated it last year. Since last year, it has been a top 10 insight in terms of views. </p><p>I personally think it is important for investors of all types to understand WHO OWNS WHAT. </p><p>Many fundamental investors are reticent to spend any time on this but there are many reasons why active investors in Japan should be interested in understanding the ownership and shareholder dynamics of passive investors in Japan.</p><div><p>Some of the places active investors will see their influence are:</p></div><div>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Stories intermittently published about the BOJ's presence in Japanese ETFs (especially the fact that it owns 85+% of the outstanding ETF market),</li>
<li>Relatively constant interest in Nikkei 225 rebalances like the one we saw in July 2020, which helped push up <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/japan-exchange-group-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11266:1" rel="noopener">Japan Exchange Group (8697 JP)</a> by 30+% from May to July, then helped it slide 13% in a week, or the changes in the Nikkei 225 review rules published earlier this year which may change what happens this September to a few large caps, and the announcement of the BOJ that it would no longer buy Nikkei 225 ETFs which started a long slide in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/fast-retailing-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:751:1" rel="noopener">Fast Retailing (9983 JP)</a> shares against comps and the Nikkei itself. Long "held up" by 'market inventory' and Nikkei 225 ETF buying, when the BOJ stopped, it removed the cushion and existing inventory holders had to sell out. </li>
<li>Then if you look at the shareholder structure of Fast Retailing today, you will see that it is STILL fundamentally a serious problem for large foreign active investors who would actually wish to take an <em>active</em> (but not activist) position. <em>Real World Float</em> on the stock is, by my calculation, less than 15% of shares outstanding. </li>
<li>The relatively recent policy of increased stewardship regarding the passive management portion of the GPIF (the Government Pension Investment Fund) - an investing heavyweight in Japan.</li>
<li>The timing and quantum of after-event support or overhang on corporate actions such as buybacks, secondary offerings, primary offerings, mergers, etc. </li>
<li>Index inclusions mean big flows. If you follow the insights on <strong><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/collections/topix-inclusion/insights?item=54585" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TOPIX Inclusions</a></strong> by <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/profiles/janaghan-jeyakumar-cfa" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="accounts:3173" rel="noopener">Janaghan Jeyakumar, CFA</a> and myself, you will often see big moves. Sometimes these stocks move 50% between when we write about them and when they go into the index. If you own them and are considering an exit, you need to know when to take profits, and the dynamic of the liquidity. If you are thinking about getting in for fundamental reasons, it pays to know early so you can get ahead of the major flow.</li>
<li>The return of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/toshiba-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:637:1" rel="noopener">Toshiba Corp (6502 JP)</a> to the TSE First Section in Q1 this year changed the foreign shareholder percentage ownership, lowering it by 10%. Smartkarma readers knew this last year and in January, which prepared them for the June AGM when the shareholder category ownership was released.</li>
<li>The changes to the TSE's market structure, which will affect TOPIX membership, which will affect many companies' issuance, buyback, share cancellation, etc decisions over the next several months. They are doing this because of the TSE Prime listing rules which will effectively also determine whether or not they will be included in TOPIX in future, or whether they will fall out of TSE Prime and will see constant selling over late 2022 to early 2025. </li>
</ul>
<p>Of course, TOPIX is just over half of the passive tracking AUM in Japan. There's more. </p>
<p>Find out WHO OWNS WHAT in Japan Passive below the fold. </p>
</div>

A few years ago I started this series, and I updated it last year. Since last year, it has been a top 10 insight in terms of views. I personally think it is important for investors of all types to understand WHO OWNS WHAT. Many fundamental investors are reticent to spend any time on this but there are many reasons why active investors in Japan should be interested in understanding the ownership and shareholder dynamics of passive investors in Japan.Some of the places active investors will see their influence are:

Stories intermittently published about the BOJ's presence in Japanese ETFs (especially the fact that it owns 85+% of the outstanding ETF market),
Relatively constant interest in Nikkei 225 rebalances like the one we saw in July 2020, which helped push up Japan Exchange Group (8697 JP) by 30+% from May to July, then helped it slide 13% in a week, or the changes in the Nikkei 225 review rules published earlier this year which may change what happens this September to a few large caps, and the announcement of the BOJ that it would no longer buy Nikkei 225 ETFs which started a long slide in Fast Retailing (9983 JP) shares against comps and the Nikkei itself. Long "held up" by 'market inventory' and Nikkei 225 ETF buying, when the BOJ stopped, it removed the cushion and existing inventory holders had to sell out. 
Then if you look at the shareholder structure of Fast Retailing today, you will see that it is STILL fundamentally a serious problem for large foreign active investors who would actually wish to take an active (but not activist) position. Real World Float on the stock is, by my calculation, less than 15% of shares outstanding. 
The relatively recent policy of increased stewardship regarding the passive management portion of the GPIF (the Government Pension Investment Fund) - an investing heavyweight in Japan.
The timing and quantum of after-event support or overhang on corporate actions such as buybacks, secondary offerings, primary offerings, mergers, etc. 
Index inclusions mean big flows. If you follow the insights on TOPIX Inclusions by Janaghan Jeyakumar, CFA and myself, you will often see big moves. Sometimes these stocks move 50% between when we write about them and when they go into the index. If you own them and are considering an exit, you need to know when to take profits, and the dynamic of the liquidity. If you are thinking about getting in for fundamental reasons, it pays to know early so you can get ahead of the major flow.
The return of Toshiba Corp (6502 JP) to the TSE First Section in Q1 this year changed the foreign shareholder percentage ownership, lowering it by 10%. Smartkarma readers knew this last year and in January, which prepared them for the June AGM when the shareholder category ownership was released.
The changes to the TSE's market structure, which will affect TOPIX membership, which will affect many companies' issuance, buyback, share cancellation, etc decisions over the next several months. They are doing this because of the TSE Prime listing rules which will effectively also determine whether or not they will be included in TOPIX in future, or whether they will fall out of TSE Prime and will see constant selling over late 2022 to early 2025. 

Of course, TOPIX is just over half of the passive tracking AUM in Japan. There's more. 
Find out WHO OWNS WHAT in Japan Passive below the fold. 


Japan

FANUC CORPORATION manufactures factory automation (FA) systems and equipments, and robots. The Company's products include computerized numerically-controlled (CNC) equipment, servo motors, laser systems, industrial robots, wire-cut electric discharge machines, and CNC drill.  Fanuc participates in a joint venture with General Electric in the FA field.

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Fanuc Corp (6954 JP)

Fanuc – Could There Be a Shock Downgrade?

The FA sector has enjoyed a few strong quarters as COVID helped kickstart an earnings upcycle but while peer Yaskawa upgraded its earnings guidance...

Mio Kato

MicroPort MedBot Pre-IPO - Valuation Appears Reasonable but Sentiment Will Weigh

Shanghai MicroPort MedBot Group (MM), a surgical robot company, aims to raise up to US$200m in its Hong Kong IPO. Valuation appears reasonable but...

Sumeet Singh

MicroPort MedBot Pre-IPO - Thoughts on Valuation

MicroPort MedBot (MM), a surgical robot company, aims to raise up to US$1bn in its Hong Kong IPO. It is a subsidiary of Microport Scientific (853...

Sumeet Singh

Keyence – Time to Step Off and Some Warning Signs for Markets

Keyence has been our top pick in the FA sector and has outperformed peers consistently but while we still consider it the highest quality name...

Mio Kato

JAPAN PASSIVE: Who Owns What 2021?

This is the 2021 Version of Who Owns What in Japan Passive. It tries to present a relatively comprehensive idea of how much money/float tracks the...

Travis Lundy

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