Brief China: Guotai Junan Placement: A Reasonable Price for Reasonable Performance and more

In this briefing:

1. Guotai Junan Placement: A Reasonable Price for Reasonable Performance
2. China Auto: New Incentives Bring New Demand
3. China’s New Semiconductor Thrust – Part 2: Commodities as a Quick Path to Success
4. China Minsheng: Unless There Is Opposing Wind, a Kite Cannot Rise.
5. Guotai Junan Securities Placement Quick Take – Might Be Too Big to Sail

1. Guotai Junan Placement: A Reasonable Price for Reasonable Performance

Guotai Junan Securities (H) (2611 HK), a Chinese securities firm, has launched a primary placement to raise HK$2.7 billion ($345 million) at a placing price of HK$16.34. The placing price is a 7% discount to the last close price of HK$17.64.

2. China Auto: New Incentives Bring New Demand

A speech from Ministry of Commerce last week represented that China would introduce a few incentives to boost auto consumption soon. Among these incentives, allowing re-use of key parts from scrapped cars might increase up to 25% of China’s annual passenger vehicle shipment. Removing restrictions on second-hand cars’ regional migrations could shorten the average length of time car owners keeping their cars, improve existing cars’ utilisation, and hence increase demand on new cars. Improving the market environment for car sales might release some auto dealers’ abnormal operating pressures. Promoting development of aftermarkets could benefit some auto dealers who are expanding business in aftermarkets.

3. China’s New Semiconductor Thrust – Part 2: Commodities as a Quick Path to Success

China’s current efforts to gain prominence in the semiconductor market targets memory chips – large commodities.  This three-part series of insights examines how China determined its strategy and explains which companies are the most threatened by it.

This second part of the series explains how China chose commodity semiconductors (DRAM and NAND flash memory chips) as the best technology to pursue.

4. China Minsheng: Unless There Is Opposing Wind, a Kite Cannot Rise.

Profitability at China Minsheng Banking A (600016 CH) in 2018 slipped. Similar to other Chinese lenders, rising Loan Loss Provisions exerted a negative pull on the bottom-line, testament to gnawing Asset Quality issues. In addition, similar to some banks, the top-line came under pressure from the rising cost of source of funding. Also the bank was not alone in juicing up its bottom-line with hefty trading gains. Thus Earnings Quality could have been better.

Given the underlying squeeze on core Income, it was encouraging to see management at least restrain OPEX.

Regarding Asset quality, write-offs soared by 153% YoY while substandard and loss Loans jumped by 68% YoY and 14%, respectively, and Loan Loss Provisions rose by 35.6% YoY. It is perhaps a little surprising then that coverage ratios decreased given the trend in credit costs, NPL migration, and charge-offs.

LDR remains quite high though credit growth last year was not gung-ho and broadly in line with Deposit expansion. We do note though a ratcheting up of CRE lending which jumped from 8.8% of the total Loan book to 12.3%.

5. Guotai Junan Securities Placement Quick Take – Might Be Too Big to Sail

Guotai Junan Securities (H) (2611 HK) plans to raise around US$350m via placing new H-Shares. We had earlier covered the IPO, you can find our coverage below:

• Guotai Junan Securities IPO: Second, if Not the Largest, China Security Broker, A-H Premium Examined
• Guotai Junan IPO: A Big Player but Relatively Less Liquid, How A-H Premium Plays

This is a large deal to digest and the shares seem to be trading at a relatively tighter A-H spread versus peers.