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Daily Briefs

Daily Brief Consumer: Toyota Industries, Meituan, Water Oasis, Guzman Y Gomez, Saizeriya, Lock&Lock, IDP Education, Lululemon Athletica and more

By | Consumer, Daily Briefs

In today’s briefing:

  • Toyota Industries (6201) – TMC’s Sale of TI Shares Is Innocuous, TI’s Valuation Remains Uncompelling
  • Meituan Is the Biggest Beneficiary of China’s Domestic Travel Recovery
  • MT/ Meituan (3690 HK): 1Q24, Total Revenue Up by 25% and Initiatives Loss Down by 45%
  • Water Oasis (1161 HK): Dividend Cut As Company Gets Conservative
  • Guzman Y Gomez IPO – The Positives – Network Growing, Sales Have Outpaced Network Growth
  • Saizeriya (7581 JP):  Buy On Any Weakness On A More Profitable Japan And Continued Strength In China
  • Affinity Equity Partners Seeking Delisting of Lock & Lock Through Comprehensive Stock Exchange
  • MV Australia Equal Weight Index Rebalance Preview: Close Deletions in June
  • Guzman Y Gomez IPO – The Negatives – Lawsuits and Management Churn
  • Lululemon 1Q’24 Update


Toyota Industries (6201) – TMC’s Sale of TI Shares Is Innocuous, TI’s Valuation Remains Uncompelling

By Travis Lundy

  • Last September, Toyota Motor (7203 JP) Group affiliate Aisin (7259 JP) said they would get rid of ALL their cross-holdings. That signalled a future sea change in Toyota intra-group relations.
  • It meant all Toyota group companies could do that. The big moves started with a multi-party offering of Denso Corp (6902 JP) shares – Toyota, Toyota Industries, and Aisin sold.
  • Then others. Then in March, Denso announced a 2.5yr selldown of ~¥460bn of Toyota Industries shares. That meant a TI buyback was likely. We got one. Now we have details.

Meituan Is the Biggest Beneficiary of China’s Domestic Travel Recovery

By Andy Fu

  • During the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival, both flight and railway traffic seems sluggish, indicating a cooled-down enthusiasm for long-distance trips due to budget constraints.
  • Data points to booming short-distance travel with self-driving as the major means, helped by lower price;
  • Benefiting from hotel booking and catering, Meituan is the biggest beneficiary of such consumption downgrade.

MT/ Meituan (3690 HK): 1Q24, Total Revenue Up by 25% and Initiatives Loss Down by 45%

By Ming Lu

  • Total revenue increased by 25% YoY and all business lines grew strongly.
  • In 1Q24, the operating losses from new initiatives decreased by 45% YoY, but new initiatives revenue still grow.
  • We conclude that the price target can be double of the market price.

Water Oasis (1161 HK): Dividend Cut As Company Gets Conservative

By Sameer Taneja

  • Water Oasis (1161 HK) reported profits down 30% YoY (ex-one-off profits down 9% YoY only), but commentary cited headwinds in the business due to muted HK economic sentiment.
  • Anticipating these headwinds, the company cut its semi-annual dividend by 50% to only 3.5 cents (implying a 7% yield on the current share price) despite a massive cash buildup.
  • Net cash at 396 mn HKD is now 58% of the market cap. Given the current economic backdrop, we see a conservative approach to dividend payment in the medium term. 

Guzman Y Gomez IPO – The Positives – Network Growing, Sales Have Outpaced Network Growth

By Sumeet Singh

  • Guzman Y Gomez plans to raise around US$160m in its Australian IPO.
  • GYG is a quick service restaurant business with more than 200 restaurants globally. It mainly focuses on fresh, made-to-order, Mexican-inspired food.
  • In this note, we look at the company’s prior performance and future prospects.

Saizeriya (7581 JP):  Buy On Any Weakness On A More Profitable Japan And Continued Strength In China

By Steve Zhou, CFA

  • After a strong 68% increase in share price in 2023, Saizeriya (7581 JP) has been trading range bound, and up 8% year-to-date in 2024. 
  • Continued weakness in Japan on the profitability front in 1HFY24 offset continued strong performance in China.
  • Japan’s operating profit is set to improve in the second half of the current fiscal year (ending August), and China’s strength will continue on the back of accelerating store openings. 

Affinity Equity Partners Seeking Delisting of Lock & Lock Through Comprehensive Stock Exchange

By Douglas Kim

  • On 5 June, Affinity Equity Partners (AEP) announced that it is seeking a delisting of Lock&Lock (115390 KS) shares through a comprehensive stock exchange. 
  • It has been reported that the second tender offer failed. Only 1.5% of the outstanding shares participated in the second tender offer, falling short of the 9.5% participation required.
  • Affinity plans to transfer the shares of Lock&Lock held by an overseas corporation to a domestic corporation (investment-in-kind) and then go through a comprehensive stock exchange procedure.

MV Australia Equal Weight Index Rebalance Preview: Close Deletions in June

By Brian Freitas

  • With the review period complete, there are 3 stocks that are close to the deletion zone and could be removed from the index at the June rebalance.
  • Even if there are no constituent changes, capping changes will lead to one-way turnover of 3.6% and a one-way trade of A$83m.
  • There are 6 stocks with over A$5m to trade from passive trackers but the impact on the stocks is not very high.

Guzman Y Gomez IPO – The Negatives – Lawsuits and Management Churn

By Sumeet Singh

  • Guzman Y Gomez plans to raise around US$160m in its Australian IPO.
  • GYG is a quick service restaurant business with more than 200 restaurants globally. It mainly focuses on fresh, made-to-order, Mexican-inspired food.
  • In this note, we talk about the not-so-positive aspects of the deal.

Lululemon 1Q’24 Update

By MBI Deep Dives

  • Lululemon was facing some really thorny questions from Mr. Market ever since 4Q’23 earnings. Today’s earnings should help calm some nerves.
  • Here are my highlights from tonight’s call. Sales Growth by Region At first glance, one may find confirmation to plenty of concerns for LULU. US sales, which was ~61% of overall sales this quarter, grew by only 2%.
  • Growth momentum in international markets, especially in China helped mask the weakness in the US.

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Daily Brief Quantitative Analysis: KRX Short Interest Weekly (May 31st): Enchem and more

By | Daily Briefs, Quantitative Analysis

In today’s briefing:

  • KRX Short Interest Weekly (May 31st): Enchem, Sk Hynix, Samsung Electronics, Doosan Enerbility


KRX Short Interest Weekly (May 31st): Enchem, Sk Hynix, Samsung Electronics, Doosan Enerbility

By Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

  • We analyzed the changes in short interest of KRX Stocks as of May 31st which has an aggregated short interest worth USD5.9bn.
  • 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 Enchem, Sk Hynix, Samsung Electronics, Doosan Enerbility, Samsung SDI.

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Daily Brief ESG: Companies with High Corporate Governance Practices Have High ROE and more

By | Daily Briefs, ESG

In today’s briefing:

  • Companies with High Corporate Governance Practices Have High ROE, but Not Vice Versa


Companies with High Corporate Governance Practices Have High ROE, but Not Vice Versa

By Aki Matsumoto

  • Companies in the 0% to 8% ROE group have low stock valuations and are in trouble because they are unable to step into value-creating management.
  • Companies in this group, which includes many prime market listed companies, have done what is required by Corporate Governance Code, but could not take action to increase their ROE.
  • The lack of significant differences in corporate governance practices for group with ROEs above 10% is due to foreign ownership not being significantly differentiated from other groups.

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Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Ohayo Japan | Nvidia Surpasses $3 Trillion and more

By | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

  • Ohayo Japan | Nvidia Surpasses $3 Trillion
  • Thematic: India Elections and Crisis Investing
  • #12Business Buzz: Nvidia’s Stock Split, TotalEnergies’ UK Power Play, Tencent’s Singapore Shift
  • #8 India Insight: Novelis IPO Postponed, TMFL Merger, Angle One Client Growth, NSE World Record


Ohayo Japan | Nvidia Surpasses $3 Trillion

By Mark Chadwick

  • The S&P 500 surged to a new high of 5,354.03, driven by Nvidia’s record-breaking performance and optimism around potential Federal Reserve rate cuts
  • Japanese space debris remover Astroscale achieved a $1 billion market valuation on its Tokyo Stock Exchange debut.
  • Shares of Lasertec fell 9% to 35,130 yen on June 5, closing 8% lower at 35,560 yen. The drop followed a report by Scorpion Capital alleging fraudulent accounting.

Thematic: India Elections and Crisis Investing

By Nimish Maheshwari

  • The Indian market saw correction due to a lower mandate for the ruling government in the current elections hinting towards moderate policy-level reforms. 
  • Election outcome is having impact on ruling government’s various agendas and reforms.
  • Historical trends suggest this crisis creates opportunities for long term investing

#12Business Buzz: Nvidia’s Stock Split, TotalEnergies’ UK Power Play, Tencent’s Singapore Shift

By Nimish Maheshwari

  • Nvidia’s stock soars 15%, aiming to make shares more accessible
  • TotalEnergies invests £450 million in UK power plant, enhancing renewables
  • Consolidation trend observed in Singapore’s office market amid tech shifts

#8 India Insight: Novelis IPO Postponed, TMFL Merger, Angle One Client Growth, NSE World Record

By Sudarshan Bhandari


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Daily Brief ECM: Shift Up Delays the IPO and Stellar Blade Tops Number One Game in the US in April and more

By | Daily Briefs, ECM

In today’s briefing:

  • Shift Up Delays the IPO and Stellar Blade Tops Number One Game in the US in April
  • Sakura Internet Placement – Beneficiary of the AI-Wave Looking to Double Down
  • Webtoon Entertainment Pre-IPO – The Positives – Just Turned Profitable
  • Pre-IPO Midea Group H Share – Even in the Face of Challenges, There Is Still Investment Value
  • Webtoon Entertainment Pre-IPO – The Negatives – Korea Revenue Declined, JP Acquisition to the Rescue


Shift Up Delays the IPO and Stellar Blade Tops Number One Game in the US in April

By Douglas Kim

  • On 5 June, Shift Up announced that it will be postponing its IPO to July. The original book building period for the institutional investors was from 3 to 13 June.  
  • The final book building date has been postponed to 27 June. The subsequent public offering subscription for general investors was also postponed to 2 to 3 July.
  • A major investment positive of Shift Up is enormous initial success of Stellar Blade which was the best selling game in the U.S. and numerous other countries in April 2024.

Sakura Internet Placement – Beneficiary of the AI-Wave Looking to Double Down

By Clarence Chu

  • Sakura internet (3778 JP) is looking to raise US$127m from its primary follow-on. Proceeds will be used towards purchasing GPU servers, and constructing new data center facilities.
  • While 11% of total shares outstanding are offered here, the deal would be easily digested by the market, representing just 0.8 days of its three month ADV.
  • In this note, we run the deal through our ECM framework and comment on deal dynamics.

Webtoon Entertainment Pre-IPO – The Positives – Just Turned Profitable

By Ethan Aw

  • Webtoon Entertainment (WBTN US) is looking to raise up to US$500m in its US IPO.
  • Webtoon Entertainment is a global storytelling platform where a community of creators and users discover, create and share new content. 
  • In this note, we talk about the positive aspects of the deal.

Pre-IPO Midea Group H Share – Even in the Face of Challenges, There Is Still Investment Value

By Xinyao (Criss) Wang

  • Although Midea’s performance keeps growing, it is difficult for the home appliance industry to return to rapidly growing incremental market as it was during the robust development of real estate.
  • As Midea’s To C business encounters growth bottleneck, To B business has become new performance driver and second growth curve, but several new businesses are facing challenges in 24Q1.
  • For mature leading enterprises in home appliance industry, a valuation of 10-20x PE is reasonable, which means market value of RMB370-740 billion, assuming 2024 net profit would reach RMB37 billion.

Webtoon Entertainment Pre-IPO – The Negatives – Korea Revenue Declined, JP Acquisition to the Rescue

By Ethan Aw

  • Webtoon Entertainment (WBTN US) is looking to raise up to US$500m in its US IPO.
  • Webtoon Entertainment is a global storytelling platform where a community of creators and users discover, create and share new content.
  • In this note, we talk about the not-so-positive aspects of the deal.

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Daily Brief Credit: Morning Views Asia: China Jinmao Holdings and more

By | Credit, Daily Briefs

In today’s briefing:

  • Morning Views Asia: China Jinmao Holdings, NagaCorp Ltd, Citicore Renewable Energy, Yuexiu Property


Morning Views Asia: China Jinmao Holdings, NagaCorp Ltd, Citicore Renewable Energy, Yuexiu Property

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.


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Daily Brief Event-Driven: SMFG Cross-Shareholding – At Least US$17bn of Cross-Shareholding to Sell and more

By | Daily Briefs, Event-Driven

In today’s briefing:

  • SMFG Cross-Shareholding – At Least US$17bn of Cross-Shareholding to Sell, Planning to Speed It Up
  • Asia Cement China (743 HK): A Low-Balled Offer Set up to Fail
  • Value-Up Tax Support Revealed by End of June: Local Market Eyes Corporate Tax Cut Beneficiaries
  • CK Asset Holdings (1113 HK): First Down, Then Up?
  • Maxell (6810) Launches New MTMP, A “TSE ‘ATIMAoCoC&SP'” Notice, And A Buyback
  • Asia Cement (743 HK): $3.22/Share Offer – Really?
  • Quiddity Leaderboard S&P 500 Jun 24: Ranks to Be Finalized Tomorrow; 2 Changes Possible


SMFG Cross-Shareholding – At Least US$17bn of Cross-Shareholding to Sell, Planning to Speed It Up

By Sumeet Singh

  • Following up on our earlier cross-shareholding notes, in this note we look at Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316 JP) cross-shareholding.
  • SMFG had a stake over US$100m in at least 47 listed Japanese stocks, amounting to a total of around US$17bn.
  • In this note, we take a look at its stakes in various companies to see which ones could possibly be candidates for further selldowns.

Asia Cement China (743 HK): A Low-Balled Offer Set up to Fail

By Arun George

  • Asia Cement China (743 HK) disclosed a Cayman scheme privatisation offer from Asia Cement (1102 TT) at HK$3.22. Including the dividend, the total offer is HK$3.26, 1.7% below the last close. 
  • The offer, which is final, is unattractive as it is materially below net cash and historical trading ranges. The disparity cannot be justified by the potential cash burn this year.
  • While no shareholder holds the 10% blocking stake, the high AGM minority participation rates and emerging retail opposition suggest a high chance of a deal break. 

Value-Up Tax Support Revealed by End of June: Local Market Eyes Corporate Tax Cut Beneficiaries

By Sanghyun Park

  • A high-ranking official from the local financial regulatory authority has confirmed to several local media outlets that the tax benefits for the value-up program will be unveiled this month.
  • Corporate tax cuts and separate taxation on dividend income will be included. The short-term impact at the time of the announcement will likely be more significant for corporate tax cuts.
  • Local market is focused on screening large companies within the KOSPI 200 that have substantial pre-tax profits in anticipation of the corporate tax cut momentum to be announced this month.

CK Asset Holdings (1113 HK): First Down, Then Up?

By Brian Freitas

  • CK Asset Holdings (1113 HK) has traded lower recently and shorts have exploded in the stock in the last few months.
  • CK Asset Holdings (1113 HK) has underperformed its peers in the last 6 months and trades cheaper on forward PE and price to book.
  • There will be passive selling in the stock in just over two weeks. There will be positioning, but not enough to meet passive supply. Expect a further move lower.

Maxell (6810) Launches New MTMP, A “TSE ‘ATIMAoCoC&SP'” Notice, And A Buyback

By Travis Lundy

  • Today, Maxell Ltd (6810 JP) announced its new MTMP “MEX26 – Commit to Value (CorporateValue,ProfitGrowth)” with lots of consultant-speak and corporate homily.
  • But they present a capital investment plan, and a capital return plan. These may interest investors. The buyback is the same size as 2019 and 2022. They popped and faded.
  • Todays tidbits were all announced during the lunch break today, and the stock popped 6% in the PM session on the news.

Asia Cement (743 HK): $3.22/Share Offer – Really?

By David Blennerhassett

  • After Chinese cement play Asia Cement China (743 HK) (ACC) was suspended on the 28th May, a punchy Offer from its parent Asia Cement (1102 TT) was expected. 
  • Not to be. Asia Cement is offering $3.22/share, best & final. A 3.01% discount to last close, ~ 45% premium to undisturbed, and a whopping 37% discount to net cash.
  • Asia Cement plus concert parties hold 73.38%, so a blocking stake at the Court Meeting is 2.662%. One (possible) aspect in Asia Cement’s favour is that ACC is not shortable.  

Quiddity Leaderboard S&P 500 Jun 24: Ranks to Be Finalized Tomorrow; 2 Changes Possible

By Travis Lundy

  • The S&P 500 index tracks the 500 largest names listed in the US and it is one of the most highly-tracked indices in the world.
  • The rankings used for the June 2024 index rebal event will be decided based on the opening prices tomorrow (6th June 2024).
  • In this insight, we take a final look at the potential ADDs and DELs leading the rankings for the upcoming review.

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Daily Brief Equity Bottom-Up: China E-Commerce: Stabilizing Property Market Matters a Lot and more

By | Daily Briefs, Equity Bottom-Up

In today’s briefing:

  • China E-Commerce: Stabilizing Property Market Matters a Lot
  • UPDATE: China Medical System (CMS, 867 HK) – A Cheap Play on China’s Pending Health Care Crisis
  • Onewo (2602 HK):  Major Share Repurchase Mandate Announced (Up To HKD5.8bn, 20% Of Current MKT CAP)
  • Tech Supply Chain Tracker (06-Jun-2024): Foxconn Hyderabad factory to make Airpods from August.
  • Vanguard (5347.TT): Setup 12″ Fab in Singapore With 60% Stake, with NXP Investing Remaining 40%.
  • Intel’s Latest SCIP With Apollo. Yikes!
  • Raydium Semiconductor – Acceleration of Revenue in 1Q24 Has Positive Implications
  • Marvell Earnings
  • Lasertec (6920): Some of the Accusations Are Disgraceful, Some Not
  • CP Axtra (CPAXT TB) – Symbiotic Alliance


China E-Commerce: Stabilizing Property Market Matters a Lot

By Eric Chen

  • A stabilizing property market matters more than other factors such as industry rivalry and shareholder return policies for the performance of leading China e-commerce players in our view.
  • China’s worst property market downturn is probably behind us. This will gradually help restore consumer confidence and lift consumer propensity to spend, improving growth outlook for China e-commerce sector.
  • We believe China e-commerce players will in general benefit from a stabilizing housing market. Alibaba remains the most attractive play in the space. 

UPDATE: China Medical System (CMS, 867 HK) – A Cheap Play on China’s Pending Health Care Crisis

By Avien Pillay

  • A high disease burden, high demand for chronic treatment, and an ageing population makes China an excellent opportunity for an established pharma company.
  • With 1/3 of the market cap in cash, a healthy payout ratio, and a FPE of under 8, CMS is one of the bargain beneficiaries in the Chinese healthcare space.
  • The founder/CEO recently purchased 8m shares. He last bought shares in 2020-2021. The share price almost tripled afterwards.

Onewo (2602 HK):  Major Share Repurchase Mandate Announced (Up To HKD5.8bn, 20% Of Current MKT CAP)

By Steve Zhou, CFA

  • Onewo (2602 HK), a leading China property management company with the controlling shareholder being China Vanke (H) (2202 HK), announced a major share repurchase mandate last night.
  • The company intends to repurchase its shares in the open market up to HKD5.8bn, which is around 20% of the current market cap. 
  • The company is trading at 13x 2024E PE on around 15% net profit growth in 2024E, and at 5% forward dividend yield. 

Tech Supply Chain Tracker (06-Jun-2024): Foxconn Hyderabad factory to make Airpods from August.

By Tech Supply Chain Tracker

  • Foxconn’s Hyderabad factory to begin producing Airpods in August, as confirmed by Telangana official.
  • Qualcomm CEO backs Arm’s forecast of 50% Windows PC market share in 5 years.
  • UnaBiz achieves record-breaking 90% accuracy with AI-enabled Wi-Fi geolocation; Nvidia and Foxconn unveil advanced computing center in Taiwan. EU establishes AI office to enforce AI Act. Tower Semi awaits wafer fab approval in India post-elections. Win Semiconductors propelled by mobile phone surge into 2024.

Vanguard (5347.TT): Setup 12″ Fab in Singapore With 60% Stake, with NXP Investing Remaining 40%.

By Patrick Liao

  • Vanguard announce the establishment of a 12” Fab in Singapore with 60% stake, with Nxp Semiconductors Nv (NXPI US) will invest remaining 40%.  
  • The nodes produced will span from 40nm to 130nm, encompassing mixed-signal, PMIC, and analog ICs to support automotive, industrial, consumer, and mobile applications.  
  • Vanguard will uphold a healthy cash balance, along with large debt and a follow-up cash offering.

Intel’s Latest SCIP With Apollo. Yikes!

By William Keating

  • Apollo-Managed funds and affiliates will lead an investment of $11 billion to acquire from Intel a 49% equity interest in a joint venture entity related to Intel’s Fab 34
  • This deal follows a similar mid-2022 deal with Brookfield to co-invest in two new leading edge fabs in Arizona at a cost of up to $30 billion
  • Why make the deal with Fab 34 in Ireland instead of the Ohio fab under construction?

Raydium Semiconductor – Acceleration of Revenue in 1Q24 Has Positive Implications

By Daniel Tabbush

  • Surge in revenue during 1Q24 may have implications for a return to strong profit growth
  • There is no evidence of structurally weaker core costs, like COGS and SGA and even R&D
  • ROE is now above 20% and this after it large capital raising in FY22

Marvell Earnings

By Douglas O’Laughlin

  • Marvell had a pretty solid result and guided to sequentially better revenue.

  • The market didn’t like this, but I thought, looking through the result, I liked this result quite a bit. Shares did not.

  • Marvell Technology reports Q1 EPS $0.24 ex-items vs FactSet $0.24.

Lasertec (6920): Some of the Accusations Are Disgraceful, Some Not

By Michael Allen

  • Lasertec shares dropped nearly 8% following a scathing 53-page report by Scorpion Capital, accusing management of “colossal fraud.” 
  • The SC report is shrill, in our view, and therefore, we think we add value by contributing a second opinion. 
  • In our view, Lasertec is due for a correction even if SC’s report is inundated by hyperbole.

CP Axtra (CPAXT TB) – Symbiotic Alliance

By Angus Mackintosh

  • CP Axtra (CPAXT TB) is a merger upon a merger combining the Makro wholesale business and the Lotus hypermarket and supermarket businesses, along with a hybrid mall operation. 
  • The combined entity continues to realise operational synergies in sourcing and logistics, with a strong B2B element. Omnichannel makes up more than 16% of sales and is growing rapidly.
  • CP Axtra (CPAXT TB) provides an alternative retail exposure to its parent CP ALL (CPALL TB) with ongoing restructuring benefits still to be realised. Valuations look attractive relative to growth.  

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Daily Brief Macro: India Politics: Setback for Modi Heralds Era of Uncertain Coalition Politics and more

By | Daily Briefs, Macro

In today’s briefing:

  • India Politics: Setback for Modi Heralds Era of Uncertain Coalition Politics
  • Is that It? Commodity Bull Market Over?
  • NDA (Not BJP) Wins 3rd Consecutive Term; Economic Reform Will Still Gain
  • OPEC’s Hint at Easing Production Cuts Sends Oil Prices Tanking
  • Inflation Synchronisation
  • Philippines CPI Inflation 3.9% y-o-y (consensus 4.0%) in May-24
  • CX Daily: Chinese Lithium Giant’s Chile Headache Telling of Growing Global Resource Protectionism
  • EM Watch: The China bet and the copper story are both old hat by now
  • Canada Policy Interest Rate 4.75% (consensus 4.75%) in Jun-24


India Politics: Setback for Modi Heralds Era of Uncertain Coalition Politics

By Manu Bhaskaran

  • The ruling BJP suffered major losses in the recent elections. It fell short of an overall majority and will have to rely on regional partners to form the next government. 
  • Consolidation of the anti-BJP vote under the aegis of the INDIA coalition delivered dividends, but voters also were not enthused by Modi’s economic and social campaign rhetoric. 
  • Expect short-term uncertainty as the major blocs attempt to cobble together parliamentary majorities. But more political checks and balances would be good for India. 

Is that It? Commodity Bull Market Over?

By Rikki Malik

  • Recent signs of economic weakness in the US is a believable narrative for the current weakness
  • OPEC +  announcement on increasing production adds to the noise
  • Weakness spreads from the energy sector to other commodity sectors

NDA (Not BJP) Wins 3rd Consecutive Term; Economic Reform Will Still Gain

By Prasenjit K. Basu

  • The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by PM Narendra Modi won its 3rd consecutive parliamentary majority (293 seats) although BJP fell short of a majority (unlike in 2014 and 2019).
  • Modi will take office on Friday, but will be dependent on the 16 and 12 MPs of Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP and Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) respectively, CMs of Andhra and Bihar. 
  • Naidu is an economic reformer, who’s likely to support labour-market reform and privatisation. BJP’s social agenda (UCC, single nationwide election) will need to be shelved, but economic reform will advance. 

OPEC’s Hint at Easing Production Cuts Sends Oil Prices Tanking

By Suhas Reddy

  • OPEC+ decided to extend production cuts to the end of 2025. It also plans to ease voluntary output cuts starting this October.
  • Easing hints sent oil prices tanking, shedding 5% over two days. Weak demand and ample supply thanks to overproduction by OPEC+ members lend little price support.
  • Summer driving season will ramp up gasoline demand. Weather might dampen demand, but panic buying will more than offset the demand pullback.

Inflation Synchronisation

By Phil Rush

  • The resilience of US inflation relative to the UK and EA has raised talk of decoupling and is feeding monetary policy divergence this summer.
  • Price changes are unusually synchronised, and the US looks more likely to be ahead of Europe than breaking away, limiting the potential for sustained differences.
  • Correlations remain high across spectral frequencies. A temporary decoupling is possible but would be a generational event that we doubt the fundamentals will justify.

Philippines CPI Inflation 3.9% y-o-y (consensus 4.0%) in May-24

By Heteronomics AI

  • Philippine CPI inflation in May 2024 reached 3.9% year-on-year, the highest since November 2023, but slightly below the 4.0% consensus and the historic average, indicating moderated inflationary pressures.
  • Despite the rising headline rate, core inflation slowed to 3.1%.
  • Producer Price Index (PPI) inflation contracted by -0.77% in April 2024, suggesting that reduced upstream cost pressures may temper future CPI inflation increases.
This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only.

CX Daily: Chinese Lithium Giant’s Chile Headache Telling of Growing Global Resource Protectionism

By Caixin Global

  • Lithium / In Depth: Chinese lithium giant’s Chile headache telling of growing global resource protectionism 
  • Ukraine /Beijing rebuts claim it is pressuring countries to skip Ukraine peace summit
  • Pension /In Depth: China’s pension finance push falls on deaf ears

EM Watch: The China bet and the copper story are both old hat by now

By Andreas Steno

  • Welcome to our weekly EM editorial where we travel across the liquid EM markets in the context of recent developments in USD markets.
  • ISM Services jumped back to 53.8—time to put that recession chatter to bed for a few months again?
  • Bloomberg’s latest alarmist piece on “business employment dynamics” showing a net job loss in Q3 of last year is probably the worst analysis I have read in a while.

Canada Policy Interest Rate 4.75% (consensus 4.75%) in Jun-24

By Heteronomics AI

  • The Bank of Canada reduced its policy interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.75%, aligning with the economic consensus, driven by increased confidence in achieving the 2% inflation target.
  • Economic growth resumed in Canada with a 1.7% GDP increase in Q1 2024, while CPI inflation eased to 2.7%, supported by declining core inflation measures and narrower price increase breadth across CPI components.
  • The Bank will closely monitor core inflation, demand-supply balance, and wage dynamics, with the potential for further rate cuts if inflation continues to ease and confidence in reaching the 2% target solidifies, balanced against the risk of prematurely loosening monetary policy.
This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only.

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Daily Brief Thailand: CP Axtra and more

By | Daily Briefs, Thailand

In today’s briefing:

  • CP Axtra (CPAXT TB) – Symbiotic Alliance


CP Axtra (CPAXT TB) – Symbiotic Alliance

By Angus Mackintosh

  • CP Axtra (CPAXT TB) is a merger upon a merger combining the Makro wholesale business and the Lotus hypermarket and supermarket businesses, along with a hybrid mall operation. 
  • The combined entity continues to realise operational synergies in sourcing and logistics, with a strong B2B element. Omnichannel makes up more than 16% of sales and is growing rapidly.
  • CP Axtra (CPAXT TB) provides an alternative retail exposure to its parent CP ALL (CPALL TB) with ongoing restructuring benefits still to be realised. Valuations look attractive relative to growth.  

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