Daily Brief Financials: Shin Kong Financial Holding, Auswide Bank, K Bank, Belstar Microfinance Ltd, Guoco Group Ltd, ZetaChain, Utilico Emerging Markets Ltd and more

• In late August, Taishin Financial Holding (2887 TT) and Shin Kong Financial Holding (2888 TT) agreed to merge in what appeared to be a hastily papered deal discussed here.
• CTBC Financial Holding (2891 TT) put forth its own proposal at a big premium. Shin Kong traded up. Both deals need FSC approval. Taishin’s deal has a vote 9 October. 
• Taishin recently upped terms. And now the FSC has said “no” to CTBC’s proposal. But it’s weird. It’s not “NO”; more like, “not this.” Bit of a sticky wicket here.

• Back on the 19th August, MyState Ltd (MYS AU), Tasmania’s biggest bank, entered into a merger agreement by way of a Scheme with Queensland-based Auswide Bank (ABA AU).
• Under the terms, MyState will issue 1.112 new shares for every share held by Auswide shareholders, with MyState/Auswide investors holding 65.9%/34.1% ownership in the combined group.
• This is done and is expected to be wrapped up in December. Today is the last day of trading for Auswide cum-FY24 final dividend. 

• K Bank (279570 KS) is a Korean internet bank. It has launched an IPO to raise up to US$734 million. 
• K Bank began operations in April 2017 as the first internet-only bank in Korea. KT Corp (030200 KS) and Woori Bank (000030 KS) are the two largest shareholders.
• The bull case rests on rising market share, solid deposit growth, robust loan book growth, stable NIM, rising margins and a low NPL ratio.

• Belstar Microfinance Ltd (3624918Z IN) is looking to raise around US$156m in its upcoming India IPO.
• Belstar Microfinance is a non-banking finance company (NBFC) in India with a focus on furnishing micro-enterprise loans. 
• In this note, we talk about the company’s historical performance.

• kopi-C with GuocoLand’s Group CEO: ‘We have twin engines for growth’ Real estate company GuocoLand’s Group Chief Executive Officer Cheng Hsing Yao shares how focusing on development and investment has driven its growth and prepared it for the future.
• GuocoLand Limited (“GuocoLand”) and its subsidiaries (“the Group”) is a leading real estate group that is focused on its twin engines of growth in Property Investment and Property Development.

• ZetaChain simplifies Web3 by making blockchain interactions as easy as Web2, lowering barriers for non-technical users.
• It enables omnichain smart contracts, expanding developer capabilities and use cases across multiple blockchains.
• ZetaChain enhances DeFi with advanced cross-chain operations and supports non-smart contract chains like Bitcoin, broadening participation in decentralized finance.

Utilico Emerging Markets Trust (UEM) is managed by Charles Jillings, at specialist value-based investor ICM. He reports that, operationally, the trust’s investee companies are performing extraordinarily well, although this is not being reflected in the market. The manager suggests that investors have multiple distractions including concerns about a US recession, the US presidential election and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. UEM’s investments in infrastructure and utility assets ensure the fund has a consistently low beta. The use of gearing has resumed following the arrangement of a new £50m debt facility, reflecting Jillings’ bullish outlook. UEM has solidly outperformed the MSCI Emerging Markets (EM) Index over the last three years. Since inception in 2005, the trust’s NAV total return has compounded at 9.2% per year.

• K Bank (279570 KS) plans to raise up to US$740m in its upcoming South Korean IPO.
• K Bank is one of three Internet-only banks in Korea. It provides a full range of commercial banking products and services.
• In this note, we talk about the not-so-positive aspects of the deal.