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

<p><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/coupang" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28425:1" rel="noopener">Coupang (CPNG US)</a> , the largest product e-commerce player in Korea, aims to raise around US$3bn in its US listing via a mix of selling primary and secondary shares. As per media reports, the company has earlier obtained investments from Sequoia, Softbank, Blackrock and Fidelity.</p><p>Coupang offers its 14.8m customers a wide range of owned-inventory selection. In addition, on its marketplace it also offers millions of SKUs sourced from over 200,000 merchants. Apart from normal e-commerce operation, it also provides its customers with: grocery offering, Rocket Fresh; logistics food delivery offering, Coupang Eats; and digital financial services, Coupang Pay.</p><p>In this insight, we'll talk about the positive aspects of the deal.</p>

Coupang (CPNG US) , the largest product e-commerce player in Korea, aims to raise around US$3bn in its US listing via a mix of selling primary and secondary shares. As per media reports, the company has earlier obtained investments from Sequoia, Softbank, Blackrock and Fidelity.Coupang offers its 14.8m customers a wide range of owned-inventory selection. In addition, on its marketplace it also offers millions of SKUs sourced from over 200,000 merchants. Apart from normal e-commerce operation, it also provides its customers with: grocery offering, Rocket Fresh; logistics food delivery offering, Coupang Eats; and digital financial services, Coupang Pay.In this insight, we'll talk about the positive aspects of the deal.

Coupang Pre-IPO - The Positives - Fast Growth, Sticky Customers

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

Equity Bottom-Up

<p>We believe now is the time to go Underweight on Kakao Corp, which has been one of the best-performing stocks in KOSPI this year.</p><p>There are two major reasons why we believe investors should Underweight Kakao Corp now. <strong>First,</strong> our SoTP valuation analysis suggests Kakao Corp shares are overvalued. <strong>Second</strong>, the fact that there are now two credible vaccines against COVID-19 including those developed by Moderna and Pfizer which suggests that COVID-19 could become more manageable and less deadly around the world in 2021. One of the key reasons why Kakao Corp's shares soared this year has been due to the continued concerns about COVID-19 and the company's strengths in digital, "non-contact" business areas including online games, fintech, and other digital services. COVID-19 has actually accelerated the numerous businesses of Kakao Corp and its affiliates and pushed up its share price this year. </p><p><strong>Our base case valuation of Kakao Corp suggests an implied value of 296,066 won per share, representing an 18.2% downside risk from current levels.</strong> The SoTP valuation is broken down into the company's investments in a) public companies, b) private companies, c) Kakao Corp's core business, d) net cash and e) holdco discount. </p>

We believe now is the time to go Underweight on Kakao Corp, which has been one of the best-performing stocks in KOSPI this year.There are two major reasons why we believe investors should Underweight Kakao Corp now. First, our SoTP valuation analysis suggests Kakao Corp shares are overvalued. Second, the fact that there are now two credible vaccines against COVID-19 including those developed by Moderna and Pfizer which suggests that COVID-19 could become more manageable and less deadly around the world in 2021. One of the key reasons why Kakao Corp's shares soared this year has been due to the continued concerns about COVID-19 and the company's strengths in digital, "non-contact" business areas including online games, fintech, and other digital services. COVID-19 has actually accelerated the numerous businesses of Kakao Corp and its affiliates and pushed up its share price this year. Our base case valuation of Kakao Corp suggests an implied value of 296,066 won per share, representing an 18.2% downside risk from current levels. The SoTP valuation is broken down into the company's investments in a) public companies, b) private companies, c) Kakao Corp's core business, d) net cash and e) holdco discount. 

Kakao Corp SoTP Valuation - Time To Go Underweight

<p><strong>Kakao Pay is getting ready to complete its IPO in 1H 2021</strong>. Kakao Pay is the leading mobile payment and digital wallet service provider in Korea. Kakao Pay's core service includes allowing users to request and send money to people in their KakaoTalk messenger contacts without using their bank account numbers. </p>
<p>Kakao Pay has recently hired KB Securities to be the lead underwriter of this IPO. Once Kakao Pay completes its IPO in 1H 2021, two other major Kakao affiliates including <strong>Kakao Bank</strong> and<strong> Kakao Page</strong> are expected to complete their IPOs in 2H 2021. </p>

Kakao Pay is getting ready to complete its IPO in 1H 2021. Kakao Pay is the leading mobile payment and digital wallet service provider in Korea. Kakao Pay's core service includes allowing users to request and send money to people in their KakaoTalk messenger contacts without using their bank account numbers. 
Kakao Pay has recently hired KB Securities to be the lead underwriter of this IPO. Once Kakao Pay completes its IPO in 1H 2021, two other major Kakao affiliates including Kakao Bank and Kakao Page are expected to complete their IPOs in 2H 2021. 

Cross Asset Strategy

<ul>
<li>Henry Kissinger's statement that Ukraine must give Russia some territory could be a crucial inflection point in the global markets.</li>
<li>Most of the market rebound in KOSPI in the past 100 days have occurred in the past one week.</li>
<li>The rally in global equity markets in the past week seems to suggest some higher probability that the war in Ukraine could be ended in the next several months. </li>
</ul>


Henry Kissinger's statement that Ukraine must give Russia some territory could be a crucial inflection point in the global markets.
Most of the market rebound in KOSPI in the past 100 days have occurred in the past one week.
The rally in global equity markets in the past week seems to suggest some higher probability that the war in Ukraine could be ended in the next several months. 


Kissinger's Warning that Ukraine Must Give Russia Territory - A Key Inflection Point for KOSPI?

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

<h2>3 key points of the first earnings release</h2><hr><p><strong>Point 1: Kakao Bank recorded ₩116B in net profit in the first half, surpassing last year's annual performance just in half a year.</strong></p><div class="content-highlight"><p>This is an increase of 156.2% from the first half of last year. Net profit for the second quarter was ₩69B, up 158.7% from the second quarter of last year.</p></div><section class="figure"><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/224/268/original/Screen+Shot+2021-08-17+at+3.15.33+AM.png?1629184549" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="224268"></figure></section><hr>
<p><strong>Point 2: As for Kakao Bank's platform sector growth, stock account opening application services and loans linked to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) increased by 43% and 51%, respectively, from the end of the previous year.</strong></p>
<div class="content-highlight"><p>This platform sector performance is crucial in determining the possibility of Kakao Bank taking a healthier growth path. And it seems to have robust growth in this area.</p></div>
<section class="figure"><section class="figure"><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/224/295/original/Screen+Shot+2021-08-17+at+4.25.41+AM.png?1629188760" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="224295"></figure></section></section></section><hr>
<p><strong>Point 3: As of the end of June, Kakao Bank users stood at 16.71 million, an increase of 1.27 million from the end of last year.</strong></p>
<div class="content-highlight">
<p>The increase in new customers of Kakao Bank this year was led by people in their 40s and older. Since launching the service, the percentage of accumulated customers in their 20s and 30s was 54%, but 48% of new customers in the first half of this year are in their 40s and 50s.</p>
<p>This is a very positive signal for Kakao Bank, which tries to convert its flagship product from a low-yielding personal credit loan to a high-yield product, a mortgage loan.</p>
</div>
<section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/224/286/original/Screen+Shot+2021-08-17+at+3.40.11+AM.png?1629186027" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="224286"></figure></section></section>

3 key points of the first earnings releasePoint 1: Kakao Bank recorded ₩116B in net profit in the first half, surpassing last year's annual performance just in half a year.This is an increase of 156.2% from the first half of last year. Net profit for the second quarter was ₩69B, up 158.7% from the second quarter of last year.
Point 2: As for Kakao Bank's platform sector growth, stock account opening application services and loans linked to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) increased by 43% and 51%, respectively, from the end of the previous year.
This platform sector performance is crucial in determining the possibility of Kakao Bank taking a healthier growth path. And it seems to have robust growth in this area.

Point 3: As of the end of June, Kakao Bank users stood at 16.71 million, an increase of 1.27 million from the end of last year.

The increase in new customers of Kakao Bank this year was led by people in their 40s and older. Since launching the service, the percentage of accumulated customers in their 20s and 30s was 54%, but 48% of new customers in the first half of this year are in their 40s and 50s.
This is a very positive signal for Kakao Bank, which tries to convert its flagship product from a low-yielding personal credit loan to a high-yield product, a mortgage loan.



Local Retail-Led Momentum Trading Today, Preemptively Reflecting Kakao Bank's Earnings Release

South Korea

Kakao Pay Corp. operates financial businesses. The Company provides online payment, currency encryption, and other services. Kakao Pay conducts businesses in South Korea.

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Kakaopay (377300 KS)

Coupang Pre-IPO - The Positives - Fast Growth, Sticky Customers

Coupang (CPNG US) , the largest product e-commerce player in Korea, aims to raise around US$3bn in its US listing via a mix of selling primary and...

Sumeet Singh

Kakao Corp SoTP Valuation - Time To Go Underweight

We believe now is the time to go Underweight on Kakao Corp. Our base case valuation suggests an implied value of 296,066 won per share,...

Douglas Kim

Initial Thoughts on the Kakao Pay IPO

Kakao Pay is the leading mobile payment and digital wallet service provider in Korea. Kakao Pay's core service includes allowing users to request...

Douglas Kim

Kissinger's Warning that Ukraine Must Give Russia Territory - A Key Inflection Point for KOSPI?

Henry Kissinger's statement that Ukraine must give Russia some territory could be a crucial inflection point in the global markets. Global equity...

Douglas Kim

Local Retail-Led Momentum Trading Today, Preemptively Reflecting Kakao Bank's Earnings Release

This post summarizes the three key points of Kakao Bank's first earnings release today. It then discusses today's price movement and what we should...

Sanghyun Park

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