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).

Political Pit Stop 2020: Power Concentrates For the Thai Government

Political Pit Stop (Aug'20): Regime Jitters

Thai Corona Crisis (August): New Normal or Second Wave?

Political Pit Stop (June'20): Corona Silver Lining, Rise of Biden?

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).

Cross Asset Strategy

The government has handled several minor demonstrations, but the problem intensified in October and simply won't go away. In this review, we look at this new crisis in greater detail.<ul>
<li>
The Situation since October. Anti-government protests became a daily event in Thailand even as the country gears up for its regional elections. Fortunately, clashes between royalist and anti-monarchists remained relatively tame.</li>
<li>
Roots of the crisis. A multi-faction protest with conflicting agendas does not explode in one day. We trace this crisis to five key factors: the odd Senate appointment, les majeste laws, social media, the Prime Minister's own actions, and the economic weakness.
</li>
<li>
Potential solution. After discussing with several business and political watchers, we believe a short term victory for the government but a long term victory by the protesters is the most likely outcome. The current deadlock could extend for several months.</li>
<li>
Implication on Thai equities. Hotels and transport stocks will be most affected by the protest. Defensives, healthcare, and WFH plays should be beneficiaries.</li>
</ul>

The government has handled several minor demonstrations, but the problem intensified in October and simply won't go away. In this review, we look at this new crisis in greater detail.

The Situation since October. Anti-government protests became a daily event in Thailand even as the country gears up for its regional elections. Fortunately, clashes between royalist and anti-monarchists remained relatively tame.

Roots of the crisis. A multi-faction protest with conflicting agendas does not explode in one day. We trace this crisis to five key factors: the odd Senate appointment, les majeste laws, social media, the Prime Minister's own actions, and the economic weakness.


Potential solution. After discussing with several business and political watchers, we believe a short term victory for the government but a long term victory by the protesters is the most likely outcome. The current deadlock could extend for several months.

Implication on Thai equities. Hotels and transport stocks will be most affected by the protest. Defensives, healthcare, and WFH plays should be beneficiaries.


Dissecting the 2020 Thai Political Crisis