Daily Brief Financials: Samsung Life Insurance, USD, CapitaLand Investment /Sing, Korea Stock Exchange KOSPI 200, Bitcoin Pro, Japan Post Holdings, S&U PLC, Bitcoin and more

• The Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang Mok reaffirmed the Corporate Value Up program, pushing up the major value driven/low PBR stocks in Korea today.
• Deputy Prime Minister Choi emphasized that as part of Corporate Value Up program, corporate tax benefits to companies that have made efforts to strengthen shareholder return policy will be provided.
• The Korean government also plans to revise the law to separate taxation on the dividend income of shareholders of companies that expand dividends.

• Strong dollar not seen as a problem for the US or the Fed, more concerning for the rest of the world
• Unlikely to see coordinated global intervention due to high hurdles and lack of exceptional circumstances
• Dollar CNY stability due to PBOC holding it down, may welcome cooling pressures on the currency from Japan and Korea verbal interventions

This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only.

• CapitaLand is a real estate investment manager with funds under management of c.S$100b and core markets being Singapore, China and India
• They reported solid FY2023 results earlier this year.  Singapore and India are showing strong market outlook while China struggles.
• Valuation is attractive with >50% upside and we view there are multiple catalysts ahead

• The KOSPI 200 INDEX has closed down for 3 consecutive weeks (CC=-3), it is WEEKLY oversold.
• If the index rallies this week, it could reach >362 (Q2 resistance) and that could be enough to end the bounce.
• Our hypothesis is that the index will pull back again, after the bounce, next week (if this week ends with a positive WEEKLY close).

• Halving Dynamics: Bitcoin’s imminent halving reduces issuance, influencing short-term price movements amidst evolving market narratives.
• Liquidity Catalyst: Bitcoin thrives in liquidity upcycles, offering a hedge against currency debasement and driving sustained market growth. 
• Bitcoin’s Resilience: Engineered precision and apolitical nature underline Bitcoin’s strength as a censorship-resistant alternative amid global economic uncertainties.

• Postal price hike approved  swinging the Post business from a loss to a profit
• Cancellation of 7.36% of outstanding shares from the latest buyback
• Management Plan to be released in May will provide further details on improving ROE and PB

S&U reported FY24 PBT of £33.6m, down from £41.4m in FY23 on higher funding and regulatory costs and higher impairments in Advantage in H2. PBT was 2% ahead of our forecast as stronger revenues – up 12% to £115.4m – and better costs offset higher-than-expected impairments. Net receivables grew to a record at both Advantage and Aspen and management noted particular strength in Q4 and a good trading environment in the current year. Having absorbed a significant rise in funding cost as well as additional regulatory cost, the company looks well positioned to deliver steady growth from here on, especially if interest rates fall in the latter half of 2024 (which we have not included in our model). Diluted EPS was 209.3p (FY23: 277.5p) and DPS was 120p (FY23:133p). We have raised FY25e EPS estimate by 2.4% to 230p and introduced FY26e EPS at 263p.

• In recent weeks, the crypto market has responded markedly negatively to geopolitical tensions before rebounding almost fully, as seen again this past weekend.
• We believe the tensions between Israel and Iran are calming down, and we anticipate the market will soon agree.
• As the market adjusts, we simultaneously expect an end to tax season effects, improving USD liquidity, while other technicalities such as the repo market will arguably likewise improve liquidity.