Brief China: New Century Hotel Mgmt IPO Preview: Two-Speed Businesses and more

In this briefing:

1. New Century Hotel Mgmt IPO Preview: Two-Speed Businesses
2. Naspers: Softbank Buyback a Guide for Naspers?
3. Global Equity Strategy: Constructive Outlook Intact, Bottoming Process Continues
4. Repsol, Petronas & Mitsui Make Massive Gas Find in Indonesia
5. Free Money Has Flown

1. New Century Hotel Mgmt IPO Preview: Two-Speed Businesses

Zhejiang New Century Hotel Management Group (ZHEKAIH HK)  is a leading hotel group in China engaged in the operation and management of mid-scale and upscale hotel chains. New Century has started pre-marketing for a Hong Kong IPO to raise up to $200 million, according to press reports.

2. Naspers: Softbank Buyback a Guide for Naspers?

Recently, Softbank’s (9984 JP) shares jumped +18% after announcing a $5.5bn share buyback. Using Smartkarma’s holdco monitor, the discount to NAV had widened to around 55% prior to the announcement but is now sitting around 40-45%. There were a few key reasons for the buyback: (1) the Softbank Corp (9434 JP) (KK) IPO netted $20bn, giving the company the flexibility to do the buyback, and (2) Softbank is taking a more disciplined approach to further platform investments.

Both these arguments are also available to Naspers (NPN SJ) management and a move to buy back 5% of market cap is feasible and we believe would narrow the discount. The question is whether management are listening. They have been dismissive of buybacks in the past but this could change.

3. Global Equity Strategy: Constructive Outlook Intact, Bottoming Process Continues

We remain constructive overall and continue to believe that global equities (MSCI ACWI) are going through a bottoming process. Opportunities exist but Sector leadership is mixed.  In our February International Strategy document, we explore various themes which lead to our overall constructive outlook, as well as a technical appraisal of each Sector and the investable opportunities therein.

4. Repsol, Petronas & Mitsui Make Massive Gas Find in Indonesia

Repsol SA (REP SM)‘s discovery is very significant for the companies involved and others around the area, which we discuss in detail below. It is also important for Indonesia, which requires more gas to supply domestic and export demand. It is also positive for exploration sentiment globally, to see a material discovery (Oil Exploration: We Expect a Resurgence in 2019 Pointing to Strong Performance for E&Ps) and this may encourage further M&A in Indonesia such as this deal: (Indonesia Upstream Gas Asset Sale: Positive Read-Through to Other SE Asia Gas Companies).

5. Free Money Has Flown

The world will soon discover that debt matters.

The announcement of each round of QE increased asset prices, but the effect on Treasury bond prices began to fade when central bank purchases began. This unexpected behaviour revealed a little-known fact: asset prices react more to the expectation of changes in liquidity than to the experience of greater liquidity in financial markets. By contrast, economic growth is subject to the fluctuating standards of commercial bank lending, which follow variations in the demand for credit. Consequently, financial markets lead the economy. Meanwhile, central banks focus on lagging indicators, so they’re followers, not leaders. Bond markets usually predict more accurately than stock markets. To work, central bank easing policies require real risk-adjusted interest rates. However, with those rates below zero in many countries, further reductions would penalise lenders without helping borrowers. Thus, only rising inflation can save stressed debtors.