Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Smartkarma Webinar | 2023 Top Opportunities in Indian Consumer Discretionary and more

In the next installment of our Webinar Wednesdays, we go live with Smartkarma Insight Provider, Devi Subhakesan as she shares more about her thoughts on the Top Opportunities in Indian Consumer Discretionary in the year 2023. From the trends in the industry, to its major players and catalysts, join us in this next installment as we dive deep into the topic alongside Devi.

The webinar will be hosted on Wednesday, 22 March 2023, 17:00 SGT/HKT.

Devi Subhakesan  is an Equity Analyst with an Asia Consumer Sector Focus. She has been part of Buy-side and Sell-side Institutions, and has covered Oil, Gas & Coal, Media, Textiles, and Consumer Discretionary sectors across ASEAN, India, and North Asia. 

• AI is an exciting area of technology that has the potential to change how industries operate and consumers live their lives
• There is a huge TAM, but it can be difficult for equity investors to gain meaningful exposure
• We identify 22 Japanese stocks that are engaged in AI. We have two top picks 

• On Monday evening in the US, Trip.com (TCOM US) reported Q422 results that beat low expectations, but shares in the US traded down about 3% in Tuesday’s session
• As for guidance, management offered few specifics but noted a sharp improvement in booking activity early in 2023, but also highlighted an outbound capacity bottleneck at the airlines
• Just as Covid’s negative impacts papered over the secular challenges facing Trip.com, the dramatic near-term recovery in travel activity also obscures longstanding threats

• OVERSEAS. Softer tone from Powell; US equities find support; BUT, Rates extend sell off; Yield Curve -1.08%..screams recession; Shocker from EU as Germany blocks legislation banning ICE sales from 2035.
• JAPAN. NKY +0.6% vs Cash; USDJPY 137.4;  Japan set to extend rally for 5th day on weaker yen; Asahi Kasei books ¥185bn impairment loss; Another BUY call on Fanuc
• NUGGET. Rakuten stock has been in the doldrums thanks deep losses in domestic mobile ops. Losses likely peaked. Now, Rakuten Symphony is clearly gaining traction. Time to revisit?

• We recently conducted a round of interviews of Chinese start-up gaming companies, and we see an overall loosening in the regulatory environment, although near-term hit titles are still absent.
• We are positive on Tencent because of the increasing possibility of DNF mobile launch. We raise NetEase’s TP to US$ 99, and it’s one of our top picks now
• Other gaming companies that have upward trends include Kingsoft, Lingxi Games (under Alibaba), Koei Tecmo, Nexon, and Mihoyo. Companies with a downward trend include BILI and Garena (under SEA).  

• (2821.SZ/6821.HK)/(1177.HK/SBHMY): F-Star cleared CFIUS investigation, suggesting US criteria on China investments (+) 
• ATAT: Corporate travel demand recover quickly in hotel sector (+)
• BILI/1024.HK/Douyin: People’s Daily criticizes vulgar internet slangs rampant in short videos. (-/-/-)