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Smartkarma Daily Briefs

Daily Brief ESG: Size of Market Capitalization Will Make a Difference in Corporate Governance and Value Creation and more

By | Daily Briefs, ESG

In today’s briefing:

  • Size of Market Capitalization Will Make a Difference in Corporate Governance and Value Creation


Size of Market Capitalization Will Make a Difference in Corporate Governance and Value Creation

By Aki Matsumoto

  • It is premature to start discussions on stopping raising the hurdles of the Corporate Governance Code when Japan’s boards are not dominated by a majority of independent directors.
  • If listed companies are left to voluntarily improve their corporate governance practices, differences in corporate governance practice efforts among listed companies are expected to widen.
  • Companies with high percentage of foreign shareholders, primarily those with large market capitalization, are expected to continue to improve their corporate governance practices through engagement by overseas investors. vice versa

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Daily Brief Thailand: Thai Credit Bank PCL and more

By | Daily Briefs, Thailand

In today’s briefing:

  • Thai Credit Bank IPO – Sentiment Isn’t the Best, but Valuations Aren’t Demanding


Thai Credit Bank IPO – Sentiment Isn’t the Best, but Valuations Aren’t Demanding

By Clarence Chu

  • Thai Credit Bank PCL (3674238Z TB) is looking to raise up to US$281m in its Thailand IPO.
  • TCB is a commercial bank that focuses on providing business loans to small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), nano loans and micro credits to merchants, and home loans for individual customers.
  • In this note, we will look at the updates since, undertake a quick peer comparison, and share our thoughts on valuation.

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Daily Brief Australia: Newmark Property REIT and more

By | Australia, Daily Briefs

In today’s briefing:

  • BWP Trust/Newmark Prop REIT: More Bunnings Under One Roof


BWP Trust/Newmark Prop REIT: More Bunnings Under One Roof

By David Blennerhassett

  • BWP Trust (BWP AU), the owner of  75 properties (mostly Bunnings Warehouses), will merge with smaller landlord Newmark Property REIT (NPR AU), whose tenants also include Bunnings.
  • Via an off-market transaction, BWP is offering NPR unitholders 0.4 new BWP units for every NPR unit held, for an implied Offer price of $1.36/unit, a 43.1% premium to undisturbed.
  • The key condition is a 50.1% tendering threshold. 18.3% of NPR have given an irrevocable. This looks done; although NPR was listed at A$1.89/unit a little over two years ago.

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Daily Brief South Korea: Hyundai Motor, Foosung Co Ltd and more

By | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

  • Tracking Dividend Record Dates: Hyundai Motor Leads, Best Monitoring Channel Revealed
  • Foosung: Announces a Rights Offering of 101 Billion Won


Tracking Dividend Record Dates: Hyundai Motor Leads, Best Monitoring Channel Revealed

By Sanghyun Park

  • Yesterday, five companies disclosed dividend record dates and amounts. Hyundai Motor set record dates before March futures expired. Hyundai Motor offers single stock futures, presenting arbitrage opportunities.
  • Daily updates and monitoring of dividend arbitrage spread are crucial. Despite limited English support, KLCA webpage proves effective with prompt updates, simplifying the process.
  • KLCA webpage offers real-time updates and intuitive layout, ideal for dividend arbitrage trading preparation in the Korean market.

Foosung: Announces a Rights Offering of 101 Billion Won

By Douglas Kim

  • Foosung announced a rights offering worth 101 billion won. The estimated rights offering price is 7,850 won which is 22% discount to closing price on 25 January (10,070 won). 
  • The rights offering will involve 12.9 million shares (13.7% of outstanding shares). Of the 101 billion won in rights offering, the company will use 88.3 billion won in facility investments.
  • We are negative on Foosung overall and on the rights offering. Despite the company’s turnaround this year, there are concerns about share dilution plus valuations are not particularly attractive. 

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Daily Brief Indonesia: Chandra Asri Petrochemical, Mandala Multifinance and more

By | Daily Briefs, Indonesia

In today’s briefing:

  • IDX30/​​LQ45 Index Rebalance: Four Changes for Each Index
  • Mandala Multifinance (MFIN IJ): 13th Feb Change Of Control Vote


IDX30/​​LQ45 Index Rebalance: Four Changes for Each Index

By Brian Freitas


Mandala Multifinance (MFIN IJ): 13th Feb Change Of Control Vote

By David Blennerhassett

  • On the 26th June 2023, MUFG (8306 JP) and 92.7%-held Adira Dinamika (ADMF IJ) entered into SPAs with key shareholders to acquire an 80.6% stake in Mandala Multifinance (MFIN IJ).
  • Although not explicit in various company announcements, MUFG/Adira are paying an estimated IDR 3,297/share. The SPAs are subject to regulatory approvals, primarily Indonesia’s OJK.
  • An EGM for MFIN’s shareholders has now been tabled for 13th Feb to vote on this change of control. Presumably, you wouldn’t progress to the EGM without OJK’s conditional approval. 

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Daily Brief Singapore: Frasers Centrepoint Trust and more

By | Daily Briefs, Singapore

In today’s briefing:

  • Frasers Centrepoint Trust Placement – Relative Large Dilution for Smallish Accretion


Frasers Centrepoint Trust Placement – Relative Large Dilution for Smallish Accretion

By Sumeet Singh

  • Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT SP) aims to raise around US$152m in order to partly fund its purchase of an additional stake in NEX mall.
  • The company had purchased its initial stake in the property nearly a year ago.
  • In this note, we comment on the deal dynamics and run the deal through our ECM framework.

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Daily Brief India: Cello World Limited, FirstCry and more

By | Daily Briefs, India

In today’s briefing:

  • Cello World Ltd- Forensic Analysis
  • Brainbees Solutions (FirstCry) IPO: The Bull Case


Cello World Ltd- Forensic Analysis

By Nitin Mangal

  • Cello World Limited (CW IN) is a renowned company in the consumer products market. The company primarily operates in houseware, stationary and moulded furniture industry.
  • The promoters recently undertook a major corp. restructuring post which several promoter entities were acquired by CWL. This has led to abnormally high ROCEs.
  • Other forensic takeaways pertain to RPT, poor cash management, mysterious sale proceeds of PPE, subsidiaries audit, etc.

Brainbees Solutions (FirstCry) IPO: The Bull Case

By Arun George

  • FirstCry (0172540D IN), India’s largest multi-channel retailing platform for mothers’, babies’ and kids’ products, has filed for a US$700 million IPO. 
  • The substantial shareholders are Softbank Group (9984 JP) Vision Fund (25.55% of shares), Mahindra & Mahindra (MM IN) (10.98%), Premji Invest (10.36%) and Supam Maheshwari – founder and CEO (5.95%).
  • The bull case rests on growing addressable markets, strong market positioning, robust GMV growth and strong organic growth.   

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Daily Brief United States: Tesla Motors, SK Hynix, Microstrategy Inc Cl A, Nexus Mutual, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Whirlpool Corp, Bio-Rad Laboratories A, iShares iBoxx High Yield Corpo, Caci International, Frontier Group Holdings and more

By | Daily Briefs, United States

In today’s briefing:

  • Good Entry Point as Tesla Stabilizes Its 4Q23 Asp and Profits Per EV
  • What SK Hynix’s Latest Results Indicate for PC & Mobile Makers into 2025E, Including Apple
  • MicroStrategy: Initiation of Coverage – Revolutionary AI and Cloud Surge! Why MicroStrategy Could Be Your Next Goldmine in Tech Investment! – Major Drivers
  • DeFi Cover: An Emerging Sector to Watch
  • Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings: Initiation of Coverage – An Unprecedented Financial U-Turn: How Norwegian Cruise Line is Transforming Its Future Fortunes! – Major Drivers
  • Whirlpool Corporation: Initiation of Coverage – Volume Victory: How Whirlpool’s Bold Moves Promise to Increase Its Market Share and Margins! – Major Drivers
  • Bio-Rad Laboratories: Initiation of Coverage – How China’s New Policies and a Global Recession Are Rocking Its Market! – Major Drivers
  • The Anonymous Meme Account Chronicling Credit Market Craziness
  • CACI International: Initiation of Coverage – Tech Takeover: How CACI’s Smart Shift to AI is Revolutionizing Government Services! – Major Drivers
  • US Airlines – Second Tier Strives for Financial Sustainability


Good Entry Point as Tesla Stabilizes Its 4Q23 Asp and Profits Per EV

By Andrew Lu

  • Blended ASP of decline of 1% q/q in the past two quarters in 2H23, better than 3-10% q/q decline during 3Q22-2Q23, resulting in Tesla’s blended ASP decline to decelerate.
  • Due to Tesla’s cost cutting efforts with nice inventory control, we calculates profits/EV rebounded nicely by 21% q/q to US$3,490 per EV in 4Q23, much nicer than no profits.
  • Good improvement on its FSD Beta version 12.1.2 lately might become a pure profits/EV boost by incremental subscription of US$10,000-15,000 per EV or monthly fee by existing Tesla owners.

What SK Hynix’s Latest Results Indicate for PC & Mobile Makers into 2025E, Including Apple

By Vincent Fernando, CFA

  • SK Hynix results surpised consensus with a swing to positive operating profit; The company expects industry demand growth to exceed supply growth by a wide margin in 2024E.
  • Management suggests optimism not just for 2024E, but also for 2025E. 2025E is when a much larger positive demand impact from AI is expected as AI products will expand substantially.
  • SK Hynix comments regarding AI phones imply that consumers will most likely need to upgrade their phones, including iPhones, to take full advantage of AI capabilities

MicroStrategy: Initiation of Coverage – Revolutionary AI and Cloud Surge! Why MicroStrategy Could Be Your Next Goldmine in Tech Investment! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • This is our first report on MicroStrategy, a company at the forefront of enterprise analytics software.
  • In the third quarter of 2023, the company revealed notable developments in both its primary software ventures and its strategic Bitcoin investments.
  • The overall revenue for this period reached $129.5 million, marking a 3% year-over year increase, with a significant 16% rise in software license revenues, totaling $45 million.

DeFi Cover: An Emerging Sector to Watch

By Ocular

  • In our 2023 thematic outlook, we highlighted that on-chain insurance is a DeFi sub-sector that remains underdeveloped.
  • Today, DeFi has largely covered the services offered by TradFi, such as payments, lending and exchanges; as well as central, commercial and investment banking services.
  • There is also DeFi insurance (or more accurately termed as ‘DeFi cover,’ since the solutions provided are more discretionary than contractual; and may not be regulated), but presently it is not being offered as extensively as traditional insurance

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings: Initiation of Coverage – An Unprecedented Financial U-Turn: How Norwegian Cruise Line is Transforming Its Future Fortunes! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • This is our first report on cruise operator, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.
  • The company achieved record revenue, meeting or exceeding the guidance on all key metrics.
  • In this report, we have carried out a fundamental analysis of the historical financial statements of the company.

Whirlpool Corporation: Initiation of Coverage – Volume Victory: How Whirlpool’s Bold Moves Promise to Increase Its Market Share and Margins! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • This is our first report on electronics major, Whirlpool Corporation.
  • The company delivered a solid third quarter performance in a challenging macro environment, supported by satisfying North American growth and improved cost-management measures.
  • The company also successfully achieved $300 million in cost takeout actions, a performance that charts Whirlpool on course to deliver over $800 million of cost takeout actions in 2023.

Bio-Rad Laboratories: Initiation of Coverage – How China’s New Policies and a Global Recession Are Rocking Its Market! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • This is our first report on clinical diagnostic products manufacturer, Bio-Rad Laboratories.
  • The company’s financial results for the third quarter of 2023 show varying performances across segments.
  • The call highlighted key issues including the impacts of Bio-pharma and the challenges in the economic conditions in China on the company’s performances.

The Anonymous Meme Account Chronicling Credit Market Craziness

By Odd Lots

  • The podcast will feature an anonymous source who will be disguised and have their voice altered, similar to investigative shows.
  • The guest, known as high yield Harry, runs social media accounts and a newsletter where they chronicle events in the credit markets.
  • The discussion will focus on the credit markets, investor demand, the impact of higher interest rates, and the players involved in making loans and deals.

This podcast is sourced from an online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only.


CACI International: Initiation of Coverage – Tech Takeover: How CACI’s Smart Shift to AI is Revolutionizing Government Services! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • This is our first report on information solutions and services provider, CACI International.
  • The Q1 2024 results from CACI International indicate a strong performance.
  • Additionally, free cash flow exceeded expectations, and the company executed a $150 million share repurchase program.

US Airlines – Second Tier Strives for Financial Sustainability

By Neil Glynn

  • Coverage launch on Frontier Airlines, JetBlue and Spirit Airlines following the rejection of the JetBlue/Spirit deal by the US.
  • High leverage and above-sector cost inflation put each carrier in a difficult competitive position, driving the need for significant structural earnings improvements to achieve financial sustainability
  • We are 10% above consensus 2024 EBITDAR for Frontier, narrowly above for JetBlue but 17% below consensus for Spirit.

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Daily Brief China: Alibaba Group Holding , New Oriental Education & Techn, Huawei Technology, ENN Natural Gas, Haier Smart Home , Sun Hung Kai Properties and more

By | China, Daily Briefs

In today’s briefing:

  • Alibaba’s Share Prices Are Lacking Further Catalysts After Jack Ma and Joe Tsai’s Stock Acquisition
  • New Oriental Education (EDU US/9901 HK):  A Better Business Model In The Post “Double Reduction” Era
  • Huawei’s Latest Operating System Completely Breaks with Android
  • Morning Views Asia: ENN Natural Gas
  • Haier Smart Home (6690 HK): Update Suggests Resilience to Sustain
  • HK CEO & Director Dealings (26 Jan 2024): Sun Hung Kai, Wuxi Bio, Sichuan Kelun-Bio, Wisdom Sports


Alibaba’s Share Prices Are Lacking Further Catalysts After Jack Ma and Joe Tsai’s Stock Acquisition

By Fern Wang

  • Investor confidence toward the Chinese tech sector remains fragile after the government crackdown, and Alibaba Group was particularly hard hit due to Jack Ma’s previous conflicts with Chinese regulators.
  • Growth of its main eCommerce business is in question given the softening Chinese economy and intense competitions. Additionally, the growth of its cloud computing unit is also slowing down. 
  • China’s stock market stabilization fund is not likely to benefit Alibaba directly as it will be used to buy onshore stocks only. 

New Oriental Education (EDU US/9901 HK):  A Better Business Model In The Post “Double Reduction” Era

By Steve Zhou, CFA

  • New Oriental Education & Techn (9901 HK) reported better than expected FY2Q24 results last night, with sales up 36% yoy and net profit up 183% yoy.
  • The company further guided a 42-45% sales growth in FY3Q24, well above market consensus. 
  • The visibility for the next 2-3 years is actually quite high post-“double reduction” policy.

Huawei’s Latest Operating System Completely Breaks with Android

By Caixin Global

  • Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. on Thursday launched the latest version of its own operating system — HarmonyOS NEXT, which will no longer support Android apps and can only accommodate apps specifically developed for it.
  • The Chinese telecom equipment giant said the Beta version for developers will be released in the second quarter, and the general version for consumers in the fourth quarter.
  • Insiders from Huawei expect the new Mate smartphones to be released in the second half with the HarmonyOS NEXT installed.

Morning Views Asia: ENN Natural Gas

By Leonard Law, CFA

Lucror Analytics Morning Views comprise our fundamental credit analysis, opinions and trade recommendations on high yield issuers in the region, based on key company-specific developments in the past 24 hours. Our Morning Views include a section with a brief market commentary, key market indicators and a macroeconomic and corporate event calendar.


Haier Smart Home (6690 HK): Update Suggests Resilience to Sustain

By Osbert Tang, CFA

  • Haier Smart Home (6690 HK)‘s management is confident about the FY24 outlook, with net profit growth of 12-13% can be sustained.  
  • Casarte will continue to lead with 10-15% revenue increase. There is room for further margin expansion led by overseas markets and process optimisation in the domestic market.
  • The plunge in real estate market does not have a material impact on sales and HSH is positive on replacement/upgrade demand. Its FY24F PER of 10.1x is undemanding.

HK CEO & Director Dealings (26 Jan 2024): Sun Hung Kai, Wuxi Bio, Sichuan Kelun-Bio, Wisdom Sports

By David Blennerhassett


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Daily Brief Japan: Renesas Electronics, Okuma Corp, Fujitsu General, TSE Tokyo Price Index TOPIX and more

By | Daily Briefs, Japan

In today’s briefing:

  • Renesas (6723 JP) ANOTHER Clean-Up Block Trade as Hitachi/NEC Exit
  • Renesas Electronics (6723 JP): Passives Will Need to Buy a LOT This Year
  • Renesas Electronics Placement – Another US$2bn Deal, Momentum and Index Weights Should Help
  • Japanese Laggard Opportunity #2: Okuma Corp (6103 JP)
  • Fujitsu General (6755) – UGLY Forecast Change but Fujitsu Still Wants Out
  • Size of Market Capitalization Will Make a Difference in Corporate Governance and Value Creation


Renesas (6723 JP) ANOTHER Clean-Up Block Trade as Hitachi/NEC Exit

By Travis Lundy

  • Last November saw the clean-up trade of INCJ getting out of Renesas Electronics (6723 JP). That was 180+mm shares, well over-subscribed.  
  • Today we have news Hitachi and NEC are getting out of their stakes. That’s 123mm shares in an Accelerated Block Offering of about US$2bn. I expect it will go well.
  • Recent gains in semiconductor stocks globally make this larger discount attractive. I expect a little heaviness but not much. There are index repercussions for international indices.

Renesas Electronics (6723 JP): Passives Will Need to Buy a LOT This Year

By Brian Freitas


Renesas Electronics Placement – Another US$2bn Deal, Momentum and Index Weights Should Help

By Sumeet Singh

  • Hitachi Ltd (6501 JP) and NEC Corp (6701 JP) aim to raise around US$2.1bn via a sell-down of  their stake in Renesas Electronics (6723 JP)
  • The stock has seen a number of deals over the past few years with the most recent one being a cleanup in Nov 2023, which did well.
  • In this note, we will talk about the placement and run the deal through our ECM framework.

Japanese Laggard Opportunity #2: Okuma Corp (6103 JP)

By Mohshin Aziz

  • Okuma Corp (6103 JP) is flagged as a good candidate to boost its shareholder value, it has a net cash balance sheet, P/BV of 0.9x and low PE of 10.7x  
  • Management has elaborated a detailed plan to boost its P/BV ratio, with targets to boost revenues and profit margins, as well as a 35% dedicated payout for dividends 
  • Okuma should trade at least 1x Book given its strong business positioning and brand name; we derive a fair value of JPY7,300 (11% UPSIDE) using FY2024’s forecast book value 

Fujitsu General (6755) – UGLY Forecast Change but Fujitsu Still Wants Out

By Travis Lundy

  • Fujitsu General (6755 JP) came out with an ugly Q3 and ugly full-year forecast change. It appears there is lots of inventory-clearing in the channel in addition to macroeconomic headwinds. 
  • The split is a little difficult to discern, but the reason for channel-clearing makes a lot of sense from the distributor side. How long it lasts hard to know.
  • This creates the impetus for more cost-cutting/restructuring measures before a delayed v-bound to March 2025. Fujitsu STILL wants to sell. It may make extraordinary proposals to get it done.

Size of Market Capitalization Will Make a Difference in Corporate Governance and Value Creation

By Aki Matsumoto

  • It is premature to start discussions on stopping raising the hurdles of the Corporate Governance Code when Japan’s boards are not dominated by a majority of independent directors.
  • If listed companies are left to voluntarily improve their corporate governance practices, differences in corporate governance practice efforts among listed companies are expected to widen.
  • Companies with high percentage of foreign shareholders, primarily those with large market capitalization, are expected to continue to improve their corporate governance practices through engagement by overseas investors. vice versa

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