Asean-focused. Ex-Head of Thai Research

Athaporn Arayasantiparb, CFA

Athaporn served as Head of Research for UOB and ANZ in Thailand and was an award-winning telecoms analyst at UBS in 2010 (AsiaMoney Thailand category) and Regional Strategist for DMG in Singapore. Prior to that, he also served as Kasikornbank credit analyst and scholar. He has a total work experience of 22 years, of which 19 were in research and 9 in research management roles. He started his career as an engineer for PTT and currently manages family investments. He holds an MBA from Stern (NYU) and CFA Charter since 2006.

Apart from IPO Radar, which focuses on future listings, MCorp Review also performs financial advisory services for TKC Services and provides 11 other on-going thematic series ranked by frequency in descending order, namely:

1) Snippets (news-driven);
2) Sathorn Series (financial services);
3) Silicon Stories (technology); 
4) Thai-Coons (billionaire origin series);
5) Reality Check (data-driven, investigative);
6) Thai Media Spotlight;
7) Political Pit Stop; 
8) Telecom Review; 
9) Thai Macro Watch (read-through from foreign events);  
10) Small Cap Diary; and
11) Property Grid

There are also 3 limited-time series driven by specific events or locations, namely:
1) Thai Corona Crisis;
2) South Series; and
3) Mechanics and Details (deal forensics).

Sathorn Series N: Thai Cryptocurrency Regulations Update

Sathorn Series M: TMB-Thanachart Courtship

How the Mighty Fall...Or Should That Be A "Who Will"?

Asean (Thailand) Focused Independent Research

M Corp Review

M Corp is led by Athaporn Arayasantiparb who served as Head of Research for UOB and ANZ in Thailand and was an award-winning telecoms analyst at UBS in 2010 (AsiaMoney Thailand category) and Regional Strategist for DMG in Singapore. Prior to that, he also served as Kasikornbank credit analyst and scholar. He has a total work experience of 17 years, of which 14 were in research and 4 in research management roles. He started his career as an engineer for PTT and currently manages family investments. He holds an MBA from Stern (NYU) and CFA Charter since 2006. Apart from IPO Radar, which focuses on future listings, MCorp Review also provides six on-going thematic series ranked by frequency in descending order, namely: 1) Silicon Stories (technology) 2) Sathorn Series (financial services) 3) Thai-Coons (billionaire origin stories) 4) Reality Check (data-driven, investigative) 5) Thai Media Spotlight; and 6) Thai Macro Watch (global market drivers).

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

Thailand Financials / Thematic (Sector/Industry)

Blockchain Review, a small but famous guru house that wrote bestseller on the cryptocurrency topic in Thailand, recently discussed the revolutionary impact of blockchain on the world, Thailand, and modern finance in particular. Here's a quick run-down:<ul>
<li>
Libra. Good comparison between Libra, Bitcoin, and USDT and highlights Libra as being the only one with a fiat currency reserve and its likelihood of success, but he remains sceptical on their non-profit motives and feels it opens vulnerabilities in user's privacy.</li>
<li>
Bitcoin. A cryptocurrency he praises on many levels for its security, traceability, and even intrinsic value, though we found the last explanation a little dubious.</li>
<li>
Industry impacts. The guru seems to believe the biggest practical benefit of blockchain is reduction of transaction costs and compares them favorably against the banks, which we do agree with. There are some real threats to Thai banks, though some such as SCB has embraced the technology via Ripple.</li>
<li>
A critique of regulators and governments. Like all true believers, they (not us) feel that central banks are susceptible to government manipulation that have caused crisis in the past, and many sovereign powers set up roadblocks to blockchain adaptation. Having said that, we argue that the volatility of Bitcoin and other crypto far exceeds most functional currencies.</li>
</ul>

Blockchain Review, a small but famous guru house that wrote bestseller on the cryptocurrency topic in Thailand, recently discussed the revolutionary impact of blockchain on the world, Thailand, and modern finance in particular. Here's a quick run-down:

Libra. Good comparison between Libra, Bitcoin, and USDT and highlights Libra as being the only one with a fiat currency reserve and its likelihood of success, but he remains sceptical on their non-profit motives and feels it opens vulnerabilities in user's privacy.

Bitcoin. A cryptocurrency he praises on many levels for its security, traceability, and even intrinsic value, though we found the last explanation a little dubious.

Industry impacts. The guru seems to believe the biggest practical benefit of blockchain is reduction of transaction costs and compares them favorably against the banks, which we do agree with. There are some real threats to Thai banks, though some such as SCB has embraced the technology via Ripple.

A critique of regulators and governments. Like all true believers, they (not us) feel that central banks are susceptible to government manipulation that have caused crisis in the past, and many sovereign powers set up roadblocks to blockchain adaptation. Having said that, we argue that the volatility of Bitcoin and other crypto far exceeds most functional currencies.


Blockchain Review on Bitcoins