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Granite Bay Capital

An innovation focussed investment company

Granite Bay Capital is an innovation focussed investment company with a deep focus on the companies at the leading edge of innovation across major themes such as AI, ubiquitous computing, sustainability, automation and longevity.

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<p>Headline Developments It’s a big edition this week, so settle in! Elon Musk’s Boring Company (private) broke ground this week, shooting Tesla (TSLA) passengers through a high-speed tunnel under Las Vegas.  The loop comprises 2.7km of tunnels, built 30 feet under the Las Vegas Convention Center.</p>

Headline Developments It’s a big edition this week, so settle in! Elon Musk’s Boring Company (private) broke ground this week, shooting Tesla (TSLA) passengers through a high-speed tunnel under Las Vegas.  The loop comprises 2.7km of tunnels, built 30 feet under the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Equity Analyst, LightStream Research

Oshadhi Kumarasiri

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

<p>Our 2021 high conviction call, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/seven-i-holdings-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1041:1" rel="noopener">Seven &amp; I Holdings (3382 JP)</a>, announced last week that it has completed the acquisition of the Speedway Gas Stations business from Marathon Petroleum. However, the acting chairperson Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Commissioner Rohit Chopra of the US Federal Trade Commission issued a statement on the FTC website, on May 14<sup>th</sup>, 2021, saying that this transaction is illegal as it could impact competition and cause prices to soar at gas stations and convenience stores across the U.S.</p><p>This insight is labelled bullish because we think the odds of Seven &amp; I facing major legal and anticompetitive ramifications are somewhat slim, while there is still a possibility of 25-30% upside with the disclosure of the combined entity’s mid and long-term goals.</p>

Our 2021 high conviction call, Seven &amp; I Holdings (3382 JP), announced last week that it has completed the acquisition of the Speedway Gas Stations business from Marathon Petroleum. However, the acting chairperson Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Commissioner Rohit Chopra of the US Federal Trade Commission issued a statement on the FTC website, on May 14th, 2021, saying that this transaction is illegal as it could impact competition and cause prices to soar at gas stations and convenience stores across the U.S.This insight is labelled bullish because we think the odds of Seven &amp; I facing major legal and anticompetitive ramifications are somewhat slim, while there is still a possibility of 25-30% upside with the disclosure of the combined entity’s mid and long-term goals.

2021 High Conviction Call: Seven & I Completes the Speedway Acquisition, But Not Without Trouble

Expert on Japan Retail and Consumer Markets, JapanConsuming

Michael Causton

Expert on Japan Retail and Consumer Markets

Real Insight on Japanese Consumer Markets

JapanConsuming

JapanConsuming is a specialist research firm producing intelligence on Japanese retail and consumer markets. Founded in 2000, JapanConsuming has become the leading provider of insights on Japanese retailers and consumer trends to retailers, brands, government agencies and investors. As well as a highly regarded monthly report on the market, JapanConsuming produces in-depth reports on retail sectors, seminars on key trends and telephone consulting to investors on trends and retailers.

JapanConsuming was founded by Michael Causton and Roy Larke. 

Equity Bottom-Up

<p>Aeon Group managed to maintain revenues at ¥8.6 trillion in FY2020, the third straight year with little change. Although it has no department store divison to drag it down, GMS operations and its heavy reliance on real estate and SCs, which make up more than 60% of revenues, meant it had a very difficult year in terms of profits – operating profit dropped 30%.</p>
<p>A new five-year plan suggests it will spend heavily on e-commerce, and even wants to earn more from retailing rather than just from renting space. This is what many analysts have been calling for but will take time.</p>

Aeon Group managed to maintain revenues at ¥8.6 trillion in FY2020, the third straight year with little change. Although it has no department store divison to drag it down, GMS operations and its heavy reliance on real estate and SCs, which make up more than 60% of revenues, meant it had a very difficult year in terms of profits – operating profit dropped 30%.
A new five-year plan suggests it will spend heavily on e-commerce, and even wants to earn more from retailing rather than just from renting space. This is what many analysts have been calling for but will take time.

Aeon 2020: A Year of Ups and Downs but a More Profitable Future

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One, Periscope Analytics

Brian Freitas

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One

Quantitative Analysis

<div><p>The Asia Short Interest weekly looks at moves in market wide short interest and highlights movements in stock specific short interest across Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan using the last available data published by the relevant authorities.</p></div><div><p>Hong Kong saw shorts rise on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sunny-optical-tech" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13363:1" rel="noopener">Sunny Optical (2382 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-merchants-bank-co-ltd-3388a037-4214-4997-b45d-520518cfdb57" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:10987:1" rel="noopener">China Merchants Bank H (3968 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/beijing-kuaishou-technology-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:29725:1" rel="noopener">Kuaishou Technology (1024 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/bilibili-inc-83a27302-cd7d-4e6a-a1de-bcf93eb022c3" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:32215:1" rel="noopener">Bilibili Inc (9626 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-mengniu-dairy-co" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:354:1" rel="noopener">China Mengniu Dairy Co (2319 HK)</a> while there was short covering on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ping-an-insurance-grp-co-of-china-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12880:1" rel="noopener">Ping An Insurance (H) (2318 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/citic-securities-h" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:463:1" rel="noopener">Citic Securities (H) (6030 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/wuxi-apptec" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:23679:1" rel="noopener">Wuxi Biologics (2269 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hsbc-holdings-plc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:516:1" rel="noopener">HSBC Holdings (5 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/haier-smart-home-co-ltd-b3ef445f-0f54-4586-8c58-9073de98d60e" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:31105:1" rel="noopener">Haier Smart Home Co Ltd (6690 HK)</a>. Shorts increased in the Communication Services, Consumer Discretionary, Information Technology, Consumer Staples and Materials sectors, and decreased in the Financials sector.</p></div><div><p>In Japan, stocks that saw the most shorts were <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/seven-i-holdings-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1041:1" rel="noopener">Seven &amp; I Holdings (3382 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sharp-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:391:1" rel="noopener">Sharp Corp (6753 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/cyberagent-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8197:1" rel="noopener">CyberAgent Inc (4751 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/keihan-holdings-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6120:1" rel="noopener">Keihan Holdings Co., Ltd. (9045 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/jfe-holdings-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:210:1" rel="noopener">JFE Holdings (5411 JP)</a> while shorts decreased on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/lasertec-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:4126:1" rel="noopener">Lasertec Corp (6920 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/base-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28353:1" rel="noopener">BASE Inc (4477 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/toshiba-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:637:1" rel="noopener">Toshiba Corp (6502 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/daito-trust-construct-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:10503:1" rel="noopener">Daito Trust Construct (1878 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ai-inside-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:33241:1" rel="noopener">AI Inside (4488 JP)</a>. Shorts increased in the Consumer Staples and Consumer Discretionary sectors, and decreased in the Information Technology sector.</p></div><div><p>In Korea, shorts increased on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/samsung-electronics-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:191:1" rel="noopener">Samsung Electronics (005930 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/celltrion-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:991:1" rel="noopener">Celltrion Inc (068270 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/lg-display-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:7145:1" rel="noopener">LG Display (034220 KS)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/shinpoong-pharmaceutical-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:7296:1" rel="noopener">Shinpoong Pharmaceutical (019170 KS)</a>. The largest percentage increase in shorts was seen on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kcc-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11109:1" rel="noopener">Kcc Corp (002380 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/shinpoong-pharmaceutical-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:7296:1" rel="noopener">Shinpoong Pharmaceutical (019170 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/daelim-industrial-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18095:1" rel="noopener">DL Co Ltd (000210 KS)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/dongkuk-steel-mill-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:7293:1" rel="noopener">Dongkuk Steel Mill (001230 KS)</a>.</p></div><div><p>In Taiwan, shorts increased on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-steel-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:962:1" rel="noopener">China Steel (2002 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/novatek-microelectronics-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:10904:1" rel="noopener">Novatek Microelectronics Corp (3034 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/taiwan-semiconductor-manufacturing-company" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11230:1" rel="noopener">TSMC (2330 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/au-optronics-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6704:1" rel="noopener">AU Optronics (2409 TT)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/united-microelectronics-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6450:1" rel="noopener">United Microelectronics Corp (2303 TT)</a> while shorts covered on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/cathay-financial-holding-co" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:17677:1" rel="noopener">Cathay Financial Holding Co (2882 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/mega-financial-holding-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:3463:1" rel="noopener">Mega Financial Holding Co., Ltd (2886 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-airlines-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:4591:1" rel="noopener">China Airlines (2610 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/pegatron-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12852:1" rel="noopener">Pegatron Corp (4938 TT)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/silergy-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13998:1" rel="noopener">Silergy Corp (6415 TT)</a>.</p></div>

The Asia Short Interest weekly looks at moves in market wide short interest and highlights movements in stock specific short interest across Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan using the last available data published by the relevant authorities.Hong Kong saw shorts rise on Sunny Optical (2382 HK), China Merchants Bank H (3968 HK), Kuaishou Technology (1024 HK), Bilibili Inc (9626 HK) and China Mengniu Dairy Co (2319 HK) while there was short covering on Ping An Insurance (H) (2318 HK), Citic Securities (H) (6030 HK), Wuxi Biologics (2269 HK), HSBC Holdings (5 HK) and Haier Smart Home Co Ltd (6690 HK). Shorts increased in the Communication Services, Consumer Discretionary, Information Technology, Consumer Staples and Materials sectors, and decreased in the Financials sector.In Japan, stocks that saw the most shorts were Seven &amp; I Holdings (3382 JP), Sharp Corp (6753 JP), CyberAgent Inc (4751 JP), Keihan Holdings Co., Ltd. (9045 JP) and JFE Holdings (5411 JP) while shorts decreased on Lasertec Corp (6920 JP), BASE Inc (4477 JP), Toshiba Corp (6502 JP), Daito Trust Construct (1878 JP) and AI Inside (4488 JP). Shorts increased in the Consumer Staples and Consumer Discretionary sectors, and decreased in the Information Technology sector.In Korea, shorts increased on Samsung Electronics (005930 KS), Celltrion Inc (068270 KS), LG Display (034220 KS) and Shinpoong Pharmaceutical (019170 KS). The largest percentage increase in shorts was seen on Kcc Corp (002380 KS), Shinpoong Pharmaceutical (019170 KS), DL Co Ltd (000210 KS) and Dongkuk Steel Mill (001230 KS).In Taiwan, shorts increased on China Steel (2002 TT), Novatek Microelectronics Corp (3034 TT), TSMC (2330 TT), AU Optronics (2409 TT) and United Microelectronics Corp (2303 TT) while shorts covered on Cathay Financial Holding Co (2882 TT), Mega Financial Holding Co., Ltd (2886 TT), China Airlines (2610 TT), Pegatron Corp (4938 TT) and Silergy Corp (6415 TT).

Asia Shorts: Sunny Optic, CMB, Ping An, 7&I, Keihan, Celltrion, Shinpoong, KCC, China Steel, Novatek

<p>Our 2021 High Conviction call, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/seven-i-holdings-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1041:1" rel="noopener">Seven &amp; I Holdings (3382 JP)</a> has climbed 5% on the news that the activist hedge fund ValueAct, which accumulated a 4.4% stake in Seven &amp; I Holdings, is in dialogue with Seven &amp; I’s board and the management to restructure the Seven &amp; I group to focus on the 7-Eleven convenience store business.</p><p>ValueAct’s request makes sense as we think Seven &amp; I is better off focusing on the capital-light 7-Eleven convenience store business. We think disposals of the loss-making department store business Sogo &amp; Seibu and supermarket businesses Ito-Yokado and York-Benimaru, including the real estate, would suit Seven &amp; I better than a spin-off (proposed by ValueAct, according to Reuters) as it would help the company to lower its debt burden which rose following the US$21.0bn Speedway petrol stations acquisition.</p>

Our 2021 High Conviction call, Seven &amp; I Holdings (3382 JP) has climbed 5% on the news that the activist hedge fund ValueAct, which accumulated a 4.4% stake in Seven &amp; I Holdings, is in dialogue with Seven &amp; I’s board and the management to restructure the Seven &amp; I group to focus on the 7-Eleven convenience store business.ValueAct’s request makes sense as we think Seven &amp; I is better off focusing on the capital-light 7-Eleven convenience store business. We think disposals of the loss-making department store business Sogo &amp; Seibu and supermarket businesses Ito-Yokado and York-Benimaru, including the real estate, would suit Seven &amp; I better than a spin-off (proposed by ValueAct, according to Reuters) as it would help the company to lower its debt burden which rose following the US$21.0bn Speedway petrol stations acquisition.

Activist Investor Requests Seven & I to Focus on 7-Eleven Convenience Store Business

Japan

Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. is a holding company which was established through the merger of Ito-Yokado Co., Seven Eleven Japan Co., and Denny's Japan. The Company plans, manages, and operates mainly convenience stores, supermarkets, and department stores.

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Seven & I Holdings (3382 JP)

Weekly Innovation Review (WIRE) #35

Headline Developments It’s a big edition this week, so settle in!Elon Musk’s Boring Company (private) broke ground this week,...

Granite Bay Capital

2021 High Conviction Call: Seven & I Completes the Speedway Acquisition, But Not Without Trouble

Investors cannot completely ignore legal ramifications, but the probability of occurrence of such seems somewhat slim in our opinion. On the other...

Oshadhi Kumarasiri

Aeon 2020: A Year of Ups and Downs but a More Profitable Future

Aeon has for long had issues with low margins thanks to its dependence on real estate rents over actual retailing. This is changing and for the...

Michael Causton

Asia Shorts: Sunny Optic, CMB, Ping An, 7&I, Keihan, Celltrion, Shinpoong, KCC, China Steel, Novatek

The Insight looks at large short interest movements across HK, Japan, Korea and Taiwan stocks and highlights large increases/decreases in shorts to...

Brian Freitas

Activist Investor Requests Seven & I to Focus on 7-Eleven Convenience Store Business

Seven & I is better off focusing on the capital-light 7-Eleven convenience store business. The disposal of department stores, speciality stores and...

Oshadhi Kumarasiri

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