This weekly newsletter pulls together summaries of the top ten most-read Insights across Event-Driven and Index Rebalance on Smartkarma.
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1. LQ45 Index Rebalance Preview (Jan): Reading the Tea Leaves
- The review period for the LQ45 Index ended on 29 December. The changes should be announced in the last week of January, becoming effective after the close on 31 January.
- Based on the index methodology, there could be up to 5 changes at the rebalance. Plus there will be capping changes for Bank Rakyat (BBRI) and Bank Central Asia (BBCA).
- The impact of passive trading will be higher on the deletions than the inclusions since lower liquidity stocks are replaced with higher liquidity stocks.
2. March 2024 Nikkei 225 Rebal: Socionext, Disco, and a Consumer Goods Stock, Still
- No changes in the rankings since last time. Socionext (6526), Disco (6146), and a Consumer Goods stock (Zozo (3092) top-ranked, Ryohin Keikaku (7453) a better choice) are ADDs.
- The DELETEs are still Takara Holdings (2531), Pacific Metals (5541), Sumitomo Osaka Cement (5232) with a dark horse candidate in Hitachi Zosen (7004) to replace Takara.
- There is the upweight to Nitori (9843) but now less funkiness with Fast Retailing (9983). But it will continue being an interesting Nikkei 225 influence (for years to come).
3. Hang Seng Index (HSI) Rebalance Preview: Inclusion Candidates for March
- At 82 index constituents currently, we expect the index committee to progress towards reaching 100 constituents. We are (highly) unlikely to reach the target this calendar year though.
- We highlight nine stocks that have a decent chance at being added to the index over the next couple of rebalances. All companies are profitable and meet inclusion requirements.
- The market consultation on proposed changes to the Hang Seng Industry Classification System (HSICS) could lead to more inclusions from the Information Technology sector from the June rebalance.
4. TOPIX Inclusions: Who Is Ready (Jan 2024)
- Quiddity’s “Who is Ready” series of insights aims to objectively identify names listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange that are potential additions to the TOPIX Index in future.
- Furuya Metal (7826 JP) and Visional (4194 JP) are expected to be included in the TOPIX index at the end of January 2024
- There are couple of other pre-event names that we have been tracking for the past few months.
5. Inabata & Co (8098) – LARGE Equity Secondary Offering by Sumitomo Chemical
- On Friday after the close, Inabata & Co (8098 JP) announced Sumitomo Chemical (4005 JP) would sell down a large stake in a ~$200mm secondary equity offering.
- Mizuho Bank’s Retirement Benefit Trust account sells down too. Sumitomo Chem will keep 10+% and other crossholders remain.
- This is “big” at 80 days of ADV with limited early index demand, but a 10% fall would make this cheap enough to buy vs Peers.
6. Taisho Pharma (4581) – Slouching Activism May Not Get This Bumped
- Six+ weeks ago, the founding family which controls a 33% stake in cash-rich Taisho Pharmaceutical Holdin (4581 JP) announced a Tender Offer MBO to buy out minorities.
- ¥8,620/Share is 0.85x PBR but the takeover is at 0.72x operating assets with net debt at zero That’s low – comps are 2+x book and twice the EV/EBITDA ratio.
- But the scourge that is cross-holding investors blindly following management means they have 61-63% before this gets started, and only one small firm has voiced an objection.
7. A/H Premium Tracker (To 5 Jan 2024): STAY Long Hs Vs As: A Premia Still Wide, High Div SOEs Moving
- The New and Better (5mos old) A-H Premium Tracker has tables, charts, measures galore to track A/H premium positioning, southbound and northbound positioning/volatility in pairs over time, etc.
- SOUTHBOUND flows flat/light and NORTHBOUND flows a significant net buy, respectively, but liquid Hs with H/A pairs OUT-perform As on average by 200+bp.
- STILL time to go long Hs vs As for the new year. 52wk wide discounts were just last week. Wide A/H premia in renewables space look vulnerable.
8. Event Trading on KOSPI Transfer Listings: Notable Post-Listing Price Patterns
- In the past year, four KOSPI transfer listings showed similar patterns, with pre-listing price increases and substantial corrections in the first five trading days post-listing.
- ChatGPTAmid a sideways market and a 54.2% YoY growth in the local ETF market last year, the impact of passive flow imbalances may have been more significant than before.
- A key factor is the short-selling ban. Posco DX’s SSFs showed significant backwardation pre-KOSPI listing, concentrating proactive short positions, requiring caution in adjusting pre-listing short position costs.
9. Offshore China ETFs Rebalance Preview: Two Changes Expected in March
- Based on the close of 8 January, there could be two changes for the iShares A50 China (2823 HK)/ CSOP A50 (HKD) (2822 HK) in March.
- Shaanxi Coal Industry (601225 CH) and China Everbright Bank Co A (601818 CH) could replace Bank Of Ningbo Co Ltd A (002142 CH) and Aier Eye Hospital Group (300015 CH).
- The impact of passive trading will be higher on the inclusions compared to the deletions. Then there are cash and carry positions that will be rebalanced, adding to flow.
10. T&K TOKA (4636 JP): Expect ANOTHER Blandiloquent But Bletcherous Bump From Bain
- In August when Bain announced that it would launch a Tender Offer for T&K Toka Co Ltd (4636 JP) I suggested in my first piece it was the wrong price.
- I suggested it needed another ¥1,000 added onto the price. If the ¥1,300 price Dalton initially indicated seemed low to T&K TOKA, another ¥100 doesn’t seem right.
- It took time. Now it looks like a tender offer launch is imminent. The stock has traded through terms for almost 5 months, but not by a lot.
