Daily Brief Japan: SMC Corp, Nidec Corp, Fast Retailing and more

In today’s briefing:

Nikkei 225 Index Rebalance: Mostly on Expected Lines
Nikkei 225 Review Results: Nidec, SMC, Hoya IN
Fast Retailing – Downside Risk Mounts as Xinjiang Cotton Controversy Takes Centre Stage Yet Again

Nikkei 225 Index Rebalance: Mostly on Expected Lines

The Nikkei 225 (NKY INDEX) September rebalance will be done in three parts due to the delisting of Shizuoka Bank (8355 JP) and the relisting of Shizuoka Financial Group (5831).
Nidec Corp (6594 JP), SMC Corp (6273 JP) and Hoya Corp (7741 JP) replace Unitika Ltd (3103 JP), Oki Electric Industry (6703 JP) and Maruha Nichiro (1333 JP).
Passive trackers need to buy over 10 days ADV on the adds and there is a large impact of the funding trade given the add/delete size difference.

The Nikkei Index Team announced the Nikkei 225 Annual Review today, days earlier than I expected. Nidec Corp (6594 JP), SMC Corp (6273 JP), Hoya Corp (7741 JP) are IN.
Unitika Ltd (3103 JP), Maruha Nichiro (1333 JP), and Oki Electric Industry (6703 JP) are OUT. They did not go for my subjective choices to improve sector balance. Next time.
The inclusion/exclusion events are staggered over 3 days out of four because of the deletion and re-inclusion of Shizuoka Bank (8355 JP) due to its formation of a holding company.

Last week, The UNHR Office published a carefully worded report saying that the actions of the Chinese Government in Xinjiang “may constitute international crimes, in particular, crimes against humanity”.
Meanwhile, apparel brands in the US seem to be exploiting loopholes in the Uygur Forced Labour Prevention Act with Xinjiang’s clothing exports rising to a 2-year high in July 2022.
With pressure mounting on US customs to increase oversight, Fast Retailing (9983 JP)’s newest growth pillar (the US) could be about to meet major setbacks in the near term.

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