All Posts By

Smartkarma Daily Briefs

Daily Brief Quantitative Analysis: ASX Short Interest Weekly (Jan 5th): Aristocrat Leisu and more

By | Daily Briefs, Quantitative Analysis

In today’s briefing:

  • ASX Short Interest Weekly (Jan 5th): Aristocrat Leisu, Whitehaven Coal


ASX Short Interest Weekly (Jan 5th): Aristocrat Leisu, Whitehaven Coal

By Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

  • We analyzed the changes in short interest of ASX Stocks as of Jan 5th (reported today) which has an aggregated short interest worth USD19.5bn.
  • We tabulate league table for top short by value and short as multiple of ADT, as well as weekly increases & decreases in short value, short as multiple of ADT.
  • We highlight short interest changes in Aristocrat Leisu, Whitehaven Coal.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

Sign Up for Free

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

  • ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
  • ✓ Personalised Alerts
  • ✓ Custom Watchlists
  • ✓ Company Data and News
  • ✓ Events & Webinars



Daily Brief ESG: If Multi-Stakeholder Is Equally Important and more

By | Daily Briefs, ESG

In today’s briefing:

  • If Multi-Stakeholder Is Equally Important, a Company Should Make Sufficient Profit First
  • Talktalk – ESG Report – Lucror Analytics
  • CBR Fashion – ESG Report – Lucror Analytics
  • Renk – ESG Report – Lucror Analytics


If Multi-Stakeholder Is Equally Important, a Company Should Make Sufficient Profit First

By Aki Matsumoto

  • It is desirable for stakeholders other than shareholders for the company to be profitable. The problem lies in holding excess cash without making sufficient returns from the business.
  • Cash flow should be used for reinvestment and shareholder returns, but in fact many companies didn’t grow their allocations to investment and shareholder returns, but instead accumulated cash on hand.
  • There is a big difference in corporate value between a company with growing cash flow and increasing shareholder returns and a company with stagnant cash flow but raising shareholder returns.

Talktalk – ESG Report – Lucror Analytics

By Charles Macgregor

  • Lucror Analytics’ ESG Scores are based on a 3-tiered scale and are adjusted for Controversies (if applicable).
  • We assess TalkTalk’s ESG as “Adequate”, in line with its Environmental and Governance scores, while the Social score is “Weak”. Controversies are “Immaterial” and Disclosure is “Weak”.
  • TalkTalk is the UK’s leading non-traditional telecom service provider. It offers fixed-line telecom and pay-TV services (3.8 k on-net subscribers as of August 2023), as well as wholesale telecom services.

CBR Fashion – ESG Report – Lucror Analytics

By Charles Macgregor

Lucror Analytics’ ESG Scores are based on a 3-tiered scale and are adjusted for Controversies (if applicable).
CBR Fashion’s ESG is “Adequate” in our view, in line with its Governance score. The company has “Weak” scores for the Environmental and Social pillars. Controversies are “Immaterial”, but Disclosure is “Weak”.


Renk – ESG Report – Lucror Analytics

By Charles Macgregor

  • Lucror Analytics’ ESG Scores are based on a 3-tiered scale and are adjusted for Controversies (if applicable).
  • We assess Renk’s ESG as “Adequate”, driven by the “Adequate” scores for the Environmental, Social and Governance pillars. Controversies are “Immaterial” and Disclosure is “Adequate”.
  • Renk AG is a global manufacturer of high-quality automatic transmissions, gear units, slide bearings, suspension systems, couplings and test systems.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

Sign Up for Free

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

  • ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
  • ✓ Personalised Alerts
  • ✓ Custom Watchlists
  • ✓ Company Data and News
  • ✓ Events & Webinars



Daily Brief Australia: Amaero International Ltd and more

By | Australia, Daily Briefs

In today’s briefing:

  • Amaero International Ltd – 2nd EIGA Ordered, Tick, Corporate Financing Organised, Tick


Amaero International Ltd – 2nd EIGA Ordered, Tick, Corporate Financing Organised, Tick

By Research as a Service (RaaS)

  • Amaero International Ltd (ASX:3DA) is a global specialist in advanced materials manufacturing for the defence, aerospace, and other industrial sectors.
  • The company is developing an 800+-tonne a year critical metals alloy powder manufacturing facility in Tennessee, USA, with the initial focus on producing refractory alloy powder, C103, a critical metal powder used in hypersonics weaponry, strategic metals and satellites.
  • The company is moving apace with its planned commercialisation, recently announcing it had secured A$7.5m in corporate financing and that it had executed a binding purchase order for its second gas atomiser, the next generation Electrode Induction Melting Inert Gas Atomiser (or EIGA premium). 

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

Sign Up for Free

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

  • ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
  • ✓ Personalised Alerts
  • ✓ Custom Watchlists
  • ✓ Company Data and News
  • ✓ Events & Webinars



Daily Brief South Korea: KB Financial, GigaVis, Samsung Electronics and more

By | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

  • An Update on HSCEI Index Related ELS Losses for Korean Financials + BOK’s Pivot in 2024
  • An Early Look at the Potential KOSDAQ150 Rebalance Candidates in June 2024
  • Aequitas Korea IPOs + Placements Broker Performance 2023


An Update on HSCEI Index Related ELS Losses for Korean Financials + BOK’s Pivot in 2024

By Douglas Kim

  • The local media have started to provide some concrete figures of the amount of losses related to HSCEI related ELS products sold by major Korean banks and securities firms.
  • If HSCEI continues to remain at about 5,450 to the end of March 2024, the total losses could rise to nearly 1.6 trillion won, impacting more than 45,000 investors. 
  • Concerns about HSCEI index related ELS losses have negatively impacted both the major Korean banks and securities companies in Korea in the past 1-2 months. 

An Early Look at the Potential KOSDAQ150 Rebalance Candidates in June 2024

By Douglas Kim

  • In this insight, we discuss the potential KOSDAQ150 rebalance candidates in June 2024.
  • The following companies are likely candidates to be included in KOSDAQ150 rebalance in June 2024, including LS Materials, Gigavis, and Cafe24 Corp. 
  • We also provide a list of 10 companies that are potential exclusion candidates from KOSDAQ150 rebalance in June 2024.

Aequitas Korea IPOs + Placements Broker Performance 2023

By Ethan Aw

  • In this note, we will take a look at broker performance for Korea IPOs and placements in 2023.
  • The following dataset includes all Korean IPOs and placements above US$100m, which amounted to a total of seven deals. Given the small number of deals, we’ll keep the note short.
  • The deals you see in this note are based on our historical IPO and placement tracker. Feel free to drop us a message for additional information.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

Sign Up for Free

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

  • ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
  • ✓ Personalised Alerts
  • ✓ Custom Watchlists
  • ✓ Company Data and News
  • ✓ Events & Webinars



Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Ohayo Japan | CPI Caps Stocks; Nikkei at 34 Year High and more

By | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

  • Ohayo Japan | CPI Caps Stocks; Nikkei at 34 Year High
  • US Banks – Credit Card Charge-Offs Soaring to 8.5%, Can Catch Some Off Guard with Focus on CRE, C&I
  • China Property Developers In Distress – Weekly News & Announcements Tracker | Jan 5-11, 2024
  • Japan’s Drugstores Taking on – and Beating – Supermarkets
  • State Companies’ Rush to Clean Energy Sparks Bubble Fears


Ohayo Japan | CPI Caps Stocks; Nikkei at 34 Year High

By Mark Chadwick

  • S&P -0.13% as annual CPI comes in at 3.4% vs exp 3.2%. March rate cut odds down to 65%.
  • Nikkei at 34 year high as revamped NISA attracts funds; Yen falls to one month low; Japan to earmark $130b for decarbonization
  • Nikkei futures +0.5% premium to cash; Daiwa House massive CB issue; Fujitsu faces growing calls to compensate Post Office victims in UK. Uniqlo beats estimates

US Banks – Credit Card Charge-Offs Soaring to 8.5%, Can Catch Some Off Guard with Focus on CRE, C&I

By Daniel Tabbush

  • For US banks outside the largest 100, credit card charge off rates are soaring now at 8.5% compared with a total charge off rate of 0.25%
  • Often smaller finance companies or non-traditional banks can see deterioration that hits the mainstream later, like in Thailand in 1997, and  like with HSBC Finance, Countrywide, Indymac in the past.
  • Ally Financial has already revealed a renewed surge of credit costs in 3Q23, defying the decline in the preceding two quarters. Maybe COF and others will show this too?

China Property Developers In Distress – Weekly News & Announcements Tracker | Jan 5-11, 2024

By Robert Ciemniak

  • This note is a weekly curated selection of Chinese news articles and company announcements focused on developers in distress
  • We look for their deals, updates, specific project progress news (‘local signals’), as well as relevant local research commentaries about the market
  • We do not verify the underlying data or provide any opinion, we only select and summarize the information; See direct links to sources

Japan’s Drugstores Taking on – and Beating – Supermarkets

By Michael Causton

  • Major food-drugstores like Kusuri no Aoki and Genky Drugstores continue to pressure local supermarket competition. 
  • The model of funding discount foods and FMCG via high profit pharmaceutical and cosmetics ranges is one that traditional food chains cannot match.
  • Now the largest players are creating brands and expanding into new regions. Many analysts have predicted saturation in the sector in the last decade. They continue to be wrong.

State Companies’ Rush to Clean Energy Sparks Bubble Fears

By Caixin Global

  • China’s largest state-owned companies have poured hundreds of billions of yuan into wind and solar power projects, putting the country on course to hit its clean energy target six years ahead of schedule.
  • But the investment frenzy has also raised concerns over profitability and waste.
  • China has seen explosive growth in photovoltaic and wind power over the past three years as Beijing pushes to achieve a carbon peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. To meet these goals, China in 2020 set a target to install 1.2 billion kilowatts of wind and solar power capacity by 2030. The country has moved faster than planned.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

Sign Up for Free

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

  • ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
  • ✓ Personalised Alerts
  • ✓ Custom Watchlists
  • ✓ Company Data and News
  • ✓ Events & Webinars



Daily Brief Singapore: XP Power Ltd and more

By | Daily Briefs, Singapore

In today’s briefing:

  • XP Power – Expecting better market conditions in 2024


XP Power – Expecting better market conditions in 2024

By Edison Investment Research

XP Power closed FY23 with higher-than-expected revenue, benefiting from the delay to relocation of its California facility, which pulled shipments worth c £5m into Q423 and pushed c £12m capex into Q124. Q423 order intake was higher than we forecast, with upside from semiconductor equipment customers partially offset by weaker demand from healthcare and industrial customers. Timing issues and currency resulted in lower-than-expected gearing at end-FY23, although it is expected to rise in H124 before reducing again in H224. Management expects market conditions to improve through 2024, with results weighted to H2. We maintain our forecasts pending FY23 results in March.


💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

Sign Up for Free

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

  • ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
  • ✓ Personalised Alerts
  • ✓ Custom Watchlists
  • ✓ Company Data and News
  • ✓ Events & Webinars



Daily Brief ECM: Aequitas 2024 Asia IPO Pipeline – India and more

By | Daily Briefs, ECM

In today’s briefing:

  • Aequitas 2024 Asia IPO Pipeline – India
  • Ola Electric IPO: Negatives Outweigh the Positives
  • Zhubajie Pre-IPO Tearsheet
  • Amer Sports Pre-IPO – The Positives – Great Brands, Strong Growth
  • Aequitas Korea IPOs + Placements Broker Performance 2023


Aequitas 2024 Asia IPO Pipeline – India

By Sumeet Singh

  • In this note, we will take a look at the Asia Pacific IPO pipeline for 2024, following up with India after having looked at Hong Kong earlier.
  • This list has been compiled on a best effort basis from tracking the company filings and through various other sources.
  • The deals you see in this note are only a part of our full IPO pipeline tracker. Feel free to drop us a message for additional information on these IPOs.

Ola Electric IPO: Negatives Outweigh the Positives

By Shifara Samsudeen, ACMA, CGMA

  • Ola Electric is a vertically integrated pure EV player in India with both technology and manufacturing capabilities for EVs and EV components (including battery packs, motors and vehicle frames).
  • The company has filed for an IPO to raise US$600m through the sale of new shares making it the first ever EV company to go for an IPO in India.
  • Though the company’s growth story has been impressive, the sales volume is largely dependent on government subsidies raising concerns over its future prospects.

Zhubajie Pre-IPO Tearsheet

By Clarence Chu

  • Zhubajie Co Ltd (ZHUHKZ HK) is looking to raise at least US$100m in its upcoming Hong Kong IPO. The bookrunners on the deal are Citic Securities, and CCB International.
  • Zhubajie (ZBJ) is a customized enterprise services e-commerce platform in China.
  • The firm focuses on using technologies to match the service demands of enterprise clients with the skills of service providers, facilitating transactions between its ZBJ platform.

Amer Sports Pre-IPO – The Positives – Great Brands, Strong Growth

By Sumeet Singh

  • Amer Sports (AS US) plans to raise more than US$1bn in its US IPO. Proceeds will be used to pay down loans to Anta Sports Products (2020 HK) led consortium.
  • Amer Sports is a sports and outdoor brands company making clothing and other sporting equipment for use in snow sports, running, climbing, baseball, american football, tennis and other sports.
  • In this note, we talk about the positive aspects of the deal.

Aequitas Korea IPOs + Placements Broker Performance 2023

By Ethan Aw

  • In this note, we will take a look at broker performance for Korea IPOs and placements in 2023.
  • The following dataset includes all Korean IPOs and placements above US$100m, which amounted to a total of seven deals. Given the small number of deals, we’ll keep the note short.
  • The deals you see in this note are based on our historical IPO and placement tracker. Feel free to drop us a message for additional information.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

Sign Up for Free

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

  • ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
  • ✓ Personalised Alerts
  • ✓ Custom Watchlists
  • ✓ Company Data and News
  • ✓ Events & Webinars



Daily Brief Event-Driven: IJTT (7315) – Last Trading Day for Still Truly Offensive Tender Offer and more

By | Daily Briefs, Event-Driven

In today’s briefing:

  • IJTT (7315) – Last Trading Day for Still Truly Offensive Tender Offer
  • Taisho Pharmaceutical (4581 JP): Calm as Offer Heads for the 15 January Close
  • Quiddity Leaderboard CSI 300/​​500 Jun 24: Some Changes in Rankings; US$2.3bn One-Way
  • VinFast’s Global Expansion As Shares Stall
  • SENSEX Index Rebalance Preview: Likely Wipro Deletion Opens an Index Spot
  • An Early Look at the Potential KOSDAQ150 Rebalance Candidates in June 2024


IJTT (7315) – Last Trading Day for Still Truly Offensive Tender Offer

By Travis Lundy


Taisho Pharmaceutical (4581 JP): Calm as Offer Heads for the 15 January Close

By Arun George

  • Taisho Pharmaceutical Holdin (4581 JP)’s MBO JPY8,620 offer closes on 15 January. Since announcing the offer, the shares have traded above terms for 21 out of the 30 trading days.
  • Japan Catalyst has called the offer’s P/B of 0.85x too low. While shares trading above terms does not guarantee that the tender fails, it does increase the risk of failure.
  • The offeror has no compelling reason to bump as other activists have not publicly supported Japan Catalyst, the high 55.5% premium to undisturbed price and an achievable minority acceptance rate. 

Quiddity Leaderboard CSI 300/​​500 Jun 24: Some Changes in Rankings; US$2.3bn One-Way

By Janaghan Jeyakumar, CFA

  • CSI 300 represents the 300 largest stocks by market capitalization and liquidity from the entire universe of Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges. CSI 500 represents the next largest 500 names.
  • In this insight, we take a look at the potential ADDs/DELs for the CSI 300 and CSI 500 rebalance in June 2024.
  • Since my December 2023 insight, a couple of names have left the CSI 300 Expected ADDs basket and have been replaced by two other names. 

VinFast’s Global Expansion As Shares Stall

By David Blennerhassett

  • After de-SPACing last August, shares in VinFast (VFS US), the EV arm of Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup Jsc (VIC VN), went orbital, as discussed in Vingroup: VinFast’s Valuation Makes No Sense
  • VinFast cratered shortly thereafter. But still trades at a hefty ~25x P/S, well above industry peers.
  • Last Friday VinFast announced it was replacing both its CEO and CFO. Not a great look five months after IPOing. Even less attractive is the incoming CEO is VinGroup’s founder.

SENSEX Index Rebalance Preview: Likely Wipro Deletion Opens an Index Spot

By Brian Freitas

  • Over a third of the way through the review period of the June rebalance, we see one potential index change with Wipro Ltd (WPRO IN) in deletion zone.
  • There are a bunch of stocks that could be added to the index as a replacement and price changes over the rest of the review period are important.
  • Passive trackers will need to trade over 1x ADV and over 7x of delivery volume on the index changes, so there will be decent impact on the stocks.

An Early Look at the Potential KOSDAQ150 Rebalance Candidates in June 2024

By Douglas Kim

  • In this insight, we discuss the potential KOSDAQ150 rebalance candidates in June 2024.
  • The following companies are likely candidates to be included in KOSDAQ150 rebalance in June 2024, including LS Materials, Gigavis, and Cafe24 Corp. 
  • We also provide a list of 10 companies that are potential exclusion candidates from KOSDAQ150 rebalance in June 2024.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

Sign Up for Free

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

  • ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
  • ✓ Personalised Alerts
  • ✓ Custom Watchlists
  • ✓ Company Data and News
  • ✓ Events & Webinars



Daily Brief Credit: Morning Views Asia: and more

By | Credit, Daily Briefs

In today’s briefing:

  • Morning Views Asia:


Morning Views Asia:

By Charles Macgregor

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.


    💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

    Sign Up for Free

    The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

    • ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
    • ✓ Personalised Alerts
    • ✓ Custom Watchlists
    • ✓ Company Data and News
    • ✓ Events & Webinars



    Daily Brief Indonesia: Matahari Department Store and more

    By | Daily Briefs, Indonesia

    In today’s briefing:

    • Matahari Department Store (LPPF IJ) – Recovery in the Offing


    Matahari Department Store (LPPF IJ) – Recovery in the Offing

    By Angus Mackintosh

    • Matahari Department Store saw a slower performance in 3Q2023 but looks well set for a recovery in 4Q2023 and early 2024 with elections, Chinese New Year and Lebaran ahead.
    • The company plans to increase its store count by six in 2024, with four new format Matahari Department Stores outlets and two new concept MU&KU stores.
    • Matahari Department Store continues to rollout new private label brands including Suko and Anyday to target different demographics to stimulate additional demand. Valuations are attractive on a 4.9x forward PER.

    💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

    Sign Up for Free

    The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

    • ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
    • ✓ Personalised Alerts
    • ✓ Custom Watchlists
    • ✓ Company Data and News
    • ✓ Events & Webinars