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

Brian Freitas

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One

Periscope Analytics

Periscope Analytics focuses on event-driven trades across Asia Pacific and provides comprehensive, timely and systematic coverage of index changes to major Asia Pacific indices in a structured manner.

The analysis includes forecasted inclusions and exclusions to all major Asian indices that have significant amount of tracking assets, including estimates of passive buy/sell flow on the stocks. The service also provides commentary and impact of market consultations, ground rule changes, and other events (IPOs, spin-offs, M&A) that could lead to index changes and passive flow.

Periscope Analytics works with multi-strategy hedge funds, proprietary trading firms, stat arb trading groups and long-only investors that invest and trade in the Asia Pacific region with the data being used to trade index rebalances, avoid pre-positioning and passive flow, and to time entry into and exit from stocks.

Event-Driven Trades Across Asia Pacific

Event-Driven

Korea Stock Exchange Kospi Index / Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>Media reports indicate that the National Pension Service (NPS) could invest up to KRW 11tn (US$8.2bn) in a new index tracking stocks with low Price to Book ratios.</li>
<li>Filtering stocks with market cap higher than US$500m, ADTV of atleast US$1m, div yield of atleast 1.5% and Price to Book less than 1 throws up 94 potential index candidates.</li>
<li>Choosing an index of 50 stocks will require managers to buy between 1.7-3.4% of the float on the stocks. Increasing the number of constituents will reduce the impact.</li>
</ul>


Media reports indicate that the National Pension Service (NPS) could invest up to KRW 11tn (US$8.2bn) in a new index tracking stocks with low Price to Book ratios.
Filtering stocks with market cap higher than US$500m, ADTV of atleast US$1m, div yield of atleast 1.5% and Price to Book less than 1 throws up 94 potential index candidates.
Choosing an index of 50 stocks will require managers to buy between 1.7-3.4% of the float on the stocks. Increasing the number of constituents will reduce the impact.


Korea Value-Up Index: Probable Constituents & Impact of NPS' US$8.2bn Allocation

Asia and Global Semiconductor and Tech Research

Andrew Lu

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>Continuous weaknesses to be seen in industrial and general non-AI server semi demand starting 3Q23 and lasting into 1Q24 and some weaknesses in digital consumer semi demand starting 4Q23.</li>
<li>Memory semiconductor vendors see strengths in 4Q23 and continuous improvement in DRAM/NAND price in 1Q24.</li>
<li>We see a healthy mid single digit q/q and y/y decline on 4Q23 MOI but suggest vendors to avoid in next 1-2 months before they guide down the market.</li>
</ul>


Continuous weaknesses to be seen in industrial and general non-AI server semi demand starting 3Q23 and lasting into 1Q24 and some weaknesses in digital consumer semi demand starting 4Q23.
Memory semiconductor vendors see strengths in 4Q23 and continuous improvement in DRAM/NAND price in 1Q24.
We see a healthy mid single digit q/q and y/y decline on 4Q23 MOI but suggest vendors to avoid in next 1-2 months before they guide down the market.


First Run of Tech/Semis' Guidance Tells Us What Industries and Companies to Avoid

<ul>
<li>Applied guided -1% q/q and Lam Research guided 8% q/q sales growth, below N.A. front end semi equipment billings' 12% q/q growth, room for analysts to raise their 4Q23E sales. </li>
<li>N.A. front end equipment sales reached US$3.775bn, up 1% m/m, down 5% y/y but back end equipment billings reached US$222mn in December, down 8% m/m and down 9% y/y.</li>
<li>Better than equipment vendors, WSTS/SIA reported November sales of US$48bn, up 3% m/m and up 5% y/y (the first month to turn positive after 14 months of consecutive y/y decline)</li>
</ul>


Applied guided -1% q/q and Lam Research guided 8% q/q sales growth, below N.A. front end semi equipment billings' 12% q/q growth, room for analysts to raise their 4Q23E sales. 
N.A. front end equipment sales reached US$3.775bn, up 1% m/m, down 5% y/y but back end equipment billings reached US$222mn in December, down 8% m/m and down 9% y/y.
Better than equipment vendors, WSTS/SIA reported November sales of US$48bn, up 3% m/m and up 5% y/y (the first month to turn positive after 14 months of consecutive y/y decline)


From Dec N.A. SEMI Equipment Billings to Expect a Sales Raise for Applied Materials and Lam Research

Managing Director, Zero One, Zero One

Vincent Fernando, CFA

Managing Director, Zero One

Zero One

Founded in 2015, Zero One produces independent investment research and provides corporate finance advisory services with a focus on both listed and private technology companies. Founder Vincent Fernando has over 20 years of experience in US and Asia capital markets.

Independent Investment Research

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>MSFT's new AI features for Windows will need computers with at least 16GB of DRAM to run effectively. MSFT is asking manufacturers for this as a minimum for AI models.</li>
<li>MSFT announced Copilot Pro for individuals and small businesses last week. The desire to use generative AI and the minimum required DRAM will drive accelerated PC upgrades.</li>
<li>We note relative strength in 16GB DRAM prices; In Memory space, we continue to see relative value in SK Hynix, however, Nanya has the opportunity to Outperform in Taiwan.</li>
</ul>


MSFT's new AI features for Windows will need computers with at least 16GB of DRAM to run effectively. MSFT is asking manufacturers for this as a minimum for AI models.
MSFT announced Copilot Pro for individuals and small businesses last week. The desire to use generative AI and the minimum required DRAM will drive accelerated PC upgrades.
We note relative strength in 16GB DRAM prices; In Memory space, we continue to see relative value in SK Hynix, however, Nanya has the opportunity to Outperform in Taiwan.


Memory Monitor: Microsoft Copilot Will Supercharge Demand for DRAM; SK Hynix, Nanya Tech, Micron

Equity Long-Short, Semiconductors, Fabricated Knowledge

Douglas O'Laughlin

Equity Long-Short, Semiconductors

Fabricated Knowledge

Learn more about the world's most important manufactured product. Meaningful insight, timely analysis, and an occasional investment idea.

<ul><li>The year 2023 began with a significant downturn in the semiconductor market.</li><li>Significant capacity additions were brought on after the historic shortages due to COVID-19, and then demand wobbled as interest rates quickly rose.</li><li>Supply outpaced demand, and the market turned into a period of oversupply.</li></ul>

The year 2023 began with a significant downturn in the semiconductor market.Significant capacity additions were brought on after the historic shortages due to COVID-19, and then demand wobbled as interest rates quickly rose.Supply outpaced demand, and the market turned into a period of oversupply.

Semiconductor Outlook 2024: AI's Adolescence

South Korea

Hanmi Semiconductor Co., Ltd. manufactures and develops semiconductor equipment. The Company's products include auto molding system, sawing & placement system, campress trim/form/singulation system, and pick & place system.

EO Technics Co., Ltd. is a laser-based equipment supplier. The Company develops laser technology and applications used for marking, drilling, trimming and cutting.

LEENO Industrial Inc. develops and manufactures various testers.  The Company's products include integrated circuit (IC) test sockets, test probe pins used in semiconductor industry.

DB Hitek Co., Ltd. manufactures system semiconductor and provides foundry services. The Company's products inculde fabricated wafer and integrated circuits for mobile handsets and flat panel LCDs.

Techwing Inc., manufactures parts for semiconductor testing equipment. The Company's product includes test handlers, Change of Kit (C.O.K) and test interface boards.  The company's main product, test handlers, is core  semiconductor testing equipment.

Jusung Engineering Co., Ltd. manufactures semiconductor, flat panel display, and solar cell production equipment.  The Company produces space divided CVD-ALD thin film machines for semiconductor manufacture; equipment for producing liquid crystal display panels; and equipment for manufacturing crystalline silicon and thin film silicon tandem solar cells.

Psk Holdings Inc specializes in manufacturing semiconductor fabrication and liquid crystal display (LCD) manufacturing equipment.  The Company's products include dual chamber ashers and microwave ashers used in photo resist stripping and etching and multi-etchers used in LCD processes.

Tokai Carbon Korea Co., Ltd. produces purified graphite products used in semiconductor equipment, and silicon single crystal puller parts.  The Company also produces carbon products used in rubber parts for machineries.

Seojin System Co., Ltd. manufactures components for communication equipments, such as Remote Radio Head(RRH) and Digital Unit(DU).  The Company also produces semiconductor components and metal cases for hand-held devices.

Wonik IPS Co., Ltd. manufactures and sells semiconductor processing equipments.  The Company's main businesses include Semiconductor, Display and Solar industries.

Tokyo Electron Limited manufactures and sells industrial electronics products, such as semiconductor manufacturing machines, computer system, and electronic components.  The Company products are sold in US, Taiwan, and others as well as in Japan.

Applied Materials, Inc. develops, manufactures, markets, and services semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment and related spare parts for the worldwide semiconductor industry.  The Company's customers include semiconductor wafer and integrated circuit manufacturers, flat panel liquid crystal displays, solar photovoltaic cells and modules and other electronic devices manufacturers.

ASE Technology Holding Co., Ltd. offers assembly and testing services. The Company provides outsourced assembly, semiconductor testing, semiconductor packaging, and other related services. ASE Technology Holding operates in Taiwan.

MediaTek Inc. is a fabless semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital multimedia solutions. The company provides SOC system solutions for wireless communications, high-definition TV, optical storage, DVD and Blu-ray products.

KLA-Tencor Corporation manufactures yield management and process monitoring systems for the semiconductor industry.  The Company's systems are used to analyze product and process quality at critical steps in the manufacture of circuits and provide feedback so that fabrication problems can be identified. KLA-Tencor operates sales, service, and application centers worldwide.

Lam Research Corporation manufactures, markets, and services semiconductor processing equipment used in the making of integrated circuits.  The Company's products are used to deposit special films on a silicon wafer and etch away portions of various films to create a circuit design.  Lam sells its products around the world.

Monolithic Power Systems Inc specializes in high-performance, integrated power solutions. The Company provides small, highly energy efficient, easy-to-use power solutions for systems found in industrial applications, telecom infrastructures, cloud computing, automotive, and consumer applications.

ON Semiconductor Corporation supplies analog, standard logic, and discrete semiconductors for data and power management. The Company's products include integrated circuits, and analog ICs. ON also offers discrete semiconductors in a variety of surface mount and standard packages.

Lasertec Corporation develops, designs, manufactures and markets photomask inspection systems to make semiconductor devices, confocal scanning laser microscopes and liquid crystal display (LCD) inspection systems.

Skyworks Solutions, Inc., a wireless semiconductor company, designs and manufactures radio frequency and complete semiconductor system solutions for mobile communications applications.  The Company provides front-end modules, radio frequency subsystems, and system solutions to wireless handset and infrastructure customers worldwide.

SK Hynix Inc. provides products and services for the electronic components industry. The Company manufactures semiconductors, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), NAND flash memory, and static random access memory (SRAM) chips.

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SK Hynix (000660 KS)

Korea Value-Up Index: Probable Constituents & Impact of NPS' US$8.2bn Allocation

The NPS and KRW as said to be discussing the creation of the Korea Value-Up Index and the NPS could benchmark KRW 11tn to the index. We look at...

Brian Freitas

First Run of Tech/Semis' Guidance Tells Us What Industries and Companies to Avoid

First Run of Tech/Semis' Guidance Tells Us What Industries and Companies to Avoid; Weaknesses to be seen in industrial, general non-AI server semi,...

Andrew Lu

From Dec N.A. SEMI Equipment Billings to Expect a Sales Raise for Applied Materials and Lam Research

From Dec N.A. SEMI Equipment Billings to Expect a Sales Raise for Applied Materials and Lam Research; Applied and Lam guided below 4Q23 N.A. front...

Andrew Lu

Memory Monitor: Microsoft Copilot Will Supercharge Demand for DRAM; SK Hynix, Nanya Tech, Micron

Microsoft's new AI features for Windows require a minimum of 16GB of DRAM, prompting accelerated PC upgrades and a pulling forward of the demand...

Vincent Fernando, CFA

Semiconductor Outlook 2024: AI's Adolescence

Its time to jog your memory. We've gone through the downturn, what does an upturn look like? The year 2023 began with a significant downturn in the...

Fabricated Knowledge

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52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

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Korea Value-Up Index: Probable Constituents & Impact of NPS' US$8.2bn Allocation

The NPS and KRW as said to be discussing the creation of the Korea Value-Up Index and the NPS could benchmark KRW 11tn to the index. We look at...

Brian Freitas

First Run of Tech/Semis' Guidance Tells Us What Industries and Companies to Avoid

First Run of Tech/Semis' Guidance Tells Us What Industries and Companies to Avoid; Weaknesses to be seen in industrial, general non-AI server semi,...

Andrew Lu

From Dec N.A. SEMI Equipment Billings to Expect a Sales Raise for Applied Materials and Lam Research

From Dec N.A. SEMI Equipment Billings to Expect a Sales Raise for Applied Materials and Lam Research; Applied and Lam guided below 4Q23 N.A. front...

Andrew Lu

Memory Monitor: Microsoft Copilot Will Supercharge Demand for DRAM; SK Hynix, Nanya Tech, Micron

​Microsoft's new AI features for Windows require a minimum of 16GB of DRAM, prompting accelerated PC upgrades and a pulling forward of the demand...

Vincent Fernando, CFA

Semiconductor Outlook 2024: AI's Adolescence

Its time to jog your memory. We've gone through the downturn, what does an upturn look like? The year 2023 began with a significant downturn in the...

Fabricated Knowledge

Microsoft's new AI features for Windows require a minimum of 16GB of DRAM, prompting accelerated PC upgrades and a pulling forward of the demand...