Financials Credit Analyst

Hank Calenti, CFA

CreditContinuum

Credit

Executive Summary:  Rapidly rising interest rates present a challenge for credit to generate positive total returns. Unfortunately, the upward sloping sawtooth pattern of rising US interest rates ended the month on an upswing. Credit spreads needed to compress by as much to generate positive total returns. Only a small handful of Asia’s US$-denominated bank bonds (x-Japan) managed to generate positive total returns during the month of March. This was concentrated in a select sweet spot.Long duration, low investment grade rated, and high BB rated bonds led tightening over the month. Lower risk tolerance, as evidenced by the rating preferences, combined with duration desires to drive performance in March, as in February. One differentiating factor between March and February is the concentration amongst Thai- and South Korean-headquartered banks during March; however, these institutions are also the largest issuers of longer duration bank paper in Asia. As such, we see this as more of a duration, than a country story.From a pure credit spread perspective, ignoring movements in the risk-free rate, Asia’s bank bonds had an outstanding month with each of the +100 bonds that we track tightening during the month. Global monetary accommodation is in large part responsible for this spread compression. Credit fundamentals have yet to catch-up. Continued tightening, however, cannot be ruled out as credit tourists crowd-in and markets melt-up. Unfortunately for most, the recent tightening did not exceed the speed with which interest rates rose.Q1 2021 was a tough quarter for real money asset managers. We anticipate that US interest rates will continue to climb higher and may even accelerate their upward trajectory. If the trend is your friend and longer duration bonds continue to outperform, the risk is that of buying a bond which either has a higher level of volatility or is fully priced. With South Korean long-dated Senior Unsecured notes trading just north of 100 basis points (bps), it is hard to imagine these notes continuing to compress faster than interest rates. Asset managers may need to consider more subordinated, higher yielding notes to generate positive total returns over the near term. Investors will likely be pushed towards lower rated Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds in April / May to achieve positive total returns. Security selection may become more important.

Executive Summary:  Rapidly rising interest rates present a challenge for credit to generate positive total returns. Unfortunately, the upward sloping sawtooth pattern of rising US interest rates ended the month on an upswing. Credit spreads needed to compress by as much to generate positive total returns. Only a small handful of Asia’s US$-denominated bank bonds (x-Japan) managed to generate positive total returns during the month of March. This was concentrated in a select sweet spot.Long duration, low investment grade rated, and high BB rated bonds led tightening over the month. Lower risk tolerance, as evidenced by the rating preferences, combined with duration desires to drive performance in March, as in February. One differentiating factor between March and February is the concentration amongst Thai- and South Korean-headquartered banks during March; however, these institutions are also the largest issuers of longer duration bank paper in Asia. As such, we see this as more of a duration, than a country story.From a pure credit spread perspective, ignoring movements in the risk-free rate, Asia’s bank bonds had an outstanding month with each of the +100 bonds that we track tightening during the month. Global monetary accommodation is in large part responsible for this spread compression. Credit fundamentals have yet to catch-up. Continued tightening, however, cannot be ruled out as credit tourists crowd-in and markets melt-up. Unfortunately for most, the recent tightening did not exceed the speed with which interest rates rose.Q1 2021 was a tough quarter for real money asset managers. We anticipate that US interest rates will continue to climb higher and may even accelerate their upward trajectory. If the trend is your friend and longer duration bonds continue to outperform, the risk is that of buying a bond which either has a higher level of volatility or is fully priced. With South Korean long-dated Senior Unsecured notes trading just north of 100 basis points (bps), it is hard to imagine these notes continuing to compress faster than interest rates. Asset managers may need to consider more subordinated, higher yielding notes to generate positive total returns over the near term. Investors will likely be pushed towards lower rated Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds in April / May to achieve positive total returns. Security selection may become more important.

Bank Credit Compass: Positive Total Return Sweet Spot

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

Brian Freitas

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One

Event-Driven

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) has commenced a market consultation on changing the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/stock-exchange-of-thailand-set-50-index" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:31493:1" rel="noopener">Stock Exchange of Thailand SET 50 Index (SET50 INDEX)</a>, SET100 and SETHD indices to free float market cap weighted indices from the upcoming rebalance in June.The market consultation document is short on detail, but the main points are the change in index calculation from full market cap weighted to free float market cap weighted, implementation of the changes in two tranches at the June and December reviews, and implementation of quarterly changes in free float for moves of +/-5%.The biggest uncertainty for us is whether the selection of the stocks for inclusion/exclusion will use the full market cap or the free float market cap.Using the full market cap for stock selection could see 3 changes at the upcoming June review, while using free float market cap for stock selection could result in up to 6 changes at the review. The two step implementation of the free float changes will dampen the index turnover but it will still be relatively high, ranging from a one-way turnover of 7.8% for changes in free float only to 9.52% if the stock selection methodology uses free float market cap.In this Insight, we look at the proposed changes and enumerate three scenarios, the changes they will entail, the impact on the stocks and the turnover for each scenario.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) has commenced a market consultation on changing the Stock Exchange of Thailand SET 50 Index (SET50 INDEX), SET100 and SETHD indices to free float market cap weighted indices from the upcoming rebalance in June.The market consultation document is short on detail, but the main points are the change in index calculation from full market cap weighted to free float market cap weighted, implementation of the changes in two tranches at the June and December reviews, and implementation of quarterly changes in free float for moves of +/-5%.The biggest uncertainty for us is whether the selection of the stocks for inclusion/exclusion will use the full market cap or the free float market cap.Using the full market cap for stock selection could see 3 changes at the upcoming June review, while using free float market cap for stock selection could result in up to 6 changes at the review. The two step implementation of the free float changes will dampen the index turnover but it will still be relatively high, ranging from a one-way turnover of 7.8% for changes in free float only to 9.52% if the stock selection methodology uses free float market cap.In this Insight, we look at the proposed changes and enumerate three scenarios, the changes they will entail, the impact on the stocks and the turnover for each scenario.

SET50 Index - Proposed Methodology Changes: Scenarios, Names Affected & Impact

CEO, A. Stotz Investment Research

Dr. Andrew Stotz, CFA

Quantamental Investing to beat Benchmarks

A. Stotz Investment Research

We pick stocks. We construct portfolios. All our effort is focused on how to better pick stocks and construct portfolios. We serve fund management companies, family offices, and high net worth individuals.

Equity Bottom-Up

We change our recommendation on CHAYO to SELL from HOLD but raise our target price to Bt8.70 (previously Bt7.30), implying a downside of 22% from the current price. We derive our target price from a 30% premium to the 2021E PB of Thai Diversified Financials and apply a 15% small-cap discount, giving a 2021E 4x target PB.
Investment thesis:
<ul>
<li>Rising level of bad loans in Thailand can boost core business</li>
<li>Economic uncertainty helps to expand the customer base for debt collection</li>
<li>Joining the hemp hype supposed to bring additional income</li>
<li>Debt collection to further benefit from increasing mobile usage</li>
<li>High growth is priced in, warrant exercise to fund growth</li>
</ul>
Interim: The 4Q20 results were strong, and we revise our loan-growth and loan yield slightly upward. However, we still think that CHAYO lags its huge potential.
Risks: Increased competition in acquiring non-performing loans, loss from unsecured debt management, adverse regulatory changes, and potential litigation issues arising from debt collection service.

We change our recommendation on CHAYO to SELL from HOLD but raise our target price to Bt8.70 (previously Bt7.30), implying a downside of 22% from the current price. We derive our target price from a 30% premium to the 2021E PB of Thai Diversified Financials and apply a 15% small-cap discount, giving a 2021E 4x target PB.
Investment thesis:

Rising level of bad loans in Thailand can boost core business
Economic uncertainty helps to expand the customer base for debt collection
Joining the hemp hype supposed to bring additional income
Debt collection to further benefit from increasing mobile usage
High growth is priced in, warrant exercise to fund growth

Interim: The 4Q20 results were strong, and we revise our loan-growth and loan yield slightly upward. However, we still think that CHAYO lags its huge potential.
Risks: Increased competition in acquiring non-performing loans, loss from unsecured debt management, adverse regulatory changes, and potential litigation issues arising from debt collection service.

CHAYO: High Growth Expectations Make It Hard to Outperform

Research and consultancy, Tabbush Report

Daniel Tabbush

Research and consultancy

Tabbush Report

We provide research and consultancy on Asian banks. Our focus is on what we call “Asian bank research, without the noise.” We are interested in the most critical swing-factors for banks, the NPL and credit cycle, and where we believe there is a gap between perception and reality. We often focus on the less studied components of bank financial statements.  Our research is highly thematic, sometimes examining unlisted banks and companies as a window on mainstream banks. 

Being independent allows us to look at smaller banks, often overlooked by others. Analysis of BIS bank guidelines in the context of Asia, is also a focal point, while we also analyze global banks operating in the region. We use what we believe is the most comprehensive, reliable financials database, SNL Financial. S&P Capital IQ augments our database, with corporate data and CEIC, with economics. 

Asian bank research, without the noise.

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

Thai banks are leveraged to re-opening the country to tourism. They are also leveraged to a newly proposed NPL warehouse scheme.  Where re-opening and NPL warehouse move in tandem, Thai banks can be golden.

Thai banks are leveraged to re-opening the country to tourism. They are also leveraged to a newly proposed NPL warehouse scheme.  Where re-opening and NPL warehouse move in tandem, Thai banks can be golden.

<div>The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) will announce the results of the semi-annual review of the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/stock-exchange-of-thailand-set-50-index" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:31493:1" rel="noopener">Stock Exchange of Thailand SET 50 Index (SET50 INDEX)</a> in mid-June and the changes will be effective after the close of trading on 30 June.</div><div>
The review period for market cap calculations runs from 1 March to 31 May, while the liquidity calculations run from 1 June 2020 to 31 May 2021.
We see three potential changes at the current time with an estimated one-way turnover for the rebalance at 2.19%.
Potential inclusions are <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sri-trang-gloves-thailand-public-company-limited" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:29141:1" rel="noopener">Sri Trang Gloves (Thailand) Public Company Limited (STGT TB)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sri-trang-agro-industry-pcl" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:2759:1" rel="noopener">Sri Trang Agro Industry (STA TB)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/irpc-pcl" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:19051:1" rel="noopener">IRPC PCL (IRPC TB)</a>.
Potential deletions are <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/vgi-pcl" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12409:1" rel="noopener">VGI PCL (VGI TB)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/com7-pcl" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27411:1" rel="noopener">Com7 PCL (COM7 TB)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/toa-paint-thailand-pcl" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24235:1" rel="noopener">TOA Paint (Thailand) (TOA TB)</a>.
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kerry-express-thailand" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:29253:1" rel="noopener">Kerry Express Thailand (KEX TB)</a> will not completed six months of trading history by the end of the review period and will not be eligible for inclusion at the June rebalance.
There is a possibility that the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/stock-exchange-of-thailand-set-50-index" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:31493:1" rel="noopener">Stock Exchange of Thailand SET 50 Index (SET50 INDEX)</a> methodology is changed to make it a free float weighted market cap index from a full market cap index. That will see a lot of passive flow on some stocks that have a low free float.
</div>

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) will announce the results of the semi-annual review of the Stock Exchange of Thailand SET 50 Index (SET50 INDEX) in mid-June and the changes will be effective after the close of trading on 30 June.
The review period for market cap calculations runs from 1 March to 31 May, while the liquidity calculations run from 1 June 2020 to 31 May 2021.
We see three potential changes at the current time with an estimated one-way turnover for the rebalance at 2.19%.
Potential inclusions are Sri Trang Gloves (Thailand) Public Company Limited (STGT TB), Sri Trang Agro Industry (STA TB) and IRPC PCL (IRPC TB).
Potential deletions are VGI PCL (VGI TB), Com7 PCL (COM7 TB) and TOA Paint (Thailand) (TOA TB).
Kerry Express Thailand (KEX TB) will not completed six months of trading history by the end of the review period and will not be eligible for inclusion at the June rebalance.
There is a possibility that the Stock Exchange of Thailand SET 50 Index (SET50 INDEX) methodology is changed to make it a free float weighted market cap index from a full market cap index. That will see a lot of passive flow on some stocks that have a low free float.


SET50 Index Rebalance Preview: Potentially Three Changes & Move to Free Float Weighting

Thailand

SCB X Public Company Limited provides banking services. The Bank offers accounts, loans, cards, deposits, insurance, investment, payment, digital banking, and other related services. SCB X serves customers worldwide.

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Siam Commercial Bank (SCB TB)

Bank Credit Compass: Positive Total Return Sweet Spot

The sweet spot for positive total returns seems to be in long duration, low investment grade, and high BB rated bonds. This was concentrated in...

Hank Calenti, CFA

SET50 Index - Proposed Methodology Changes: Scenarios, Names Affected & Impact

The SET has commenced a market consultation on the proposed changes to make its indices free float market cap weighted. We look at the impact on...

Brian Freitas

CHAYO: High Growth Expectations Make It Hard to Outperform

We change our recommendation on CHAYO to SELL from HOLD but raise our target price to Bt8.70 (previously Bt7.30), implying a downside of 22% from...

A. Stotz Investment Research

Thai Banks – Golden

Thai banks are leveraged to a re-opening of the country to tourism and can benefit at the same time from a newly proposed NPL warehouse scheme.

Daniel Tabbush

SET50 Index Rebalance Preview: Potentially Three Changes & Move to Free Float Weighting

There could be 3 changes to the SET50 at the June review with STGT, STA & IRPC joining the index at the expense of VGI, TOA & COM7. The methodology...

Brian Freitas

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