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).

IPO Radar: CRC (Part 2), Valuation and Risks

The Week That Was in ASEAN@Smartkarma - Digital Microlending, Central Retail, and Ayala Corp

Reality Check XXII: How Might the Central-Robinson Trade Pan Out?

ROBINS: A Right for IPO Subscription of Central Retail

Reality Check XIX: Is There Some Upside to ROBINS in a Central Dept Backdoor Listing?

Thai-Coons (Ep. 3): RBS Logo...Seriously?

ROBINS: Potential Solid 2Q19 Should Counter De-Rating Trend

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).

Equity Capital Markets

Central Retail Corp Ltd / Equity Capital Markets

Central Retail Corp (CRC) looks set to steal the IPO crown from either AWC (if set in 2019) or PTTOR (if set in 2020). In this review, we explore the business side of the IPO before diving into the valuations.
<ul>
<li>
The IPO is underwritten by Phatra and is good for 1.73bn shares and will take place alongside the Robinson tender offer (at Bt66.5/sh).</li>
<li>
The Business includes Central Dept Store, the country's largest chain by revenues, which also owns a majority stake in Robinsons (53.83% pre-tender) and non-listed subsidiaries in other formats, such as convenience store (Family Mart), construction materials (Thai Watsadu), supermarkets (Tops). It is run by the Chirathivat family, Thailand's third richest family.
</li>
<li>
Foreign operations include La Renasciente, Italy's largest department store chain, and Big C Vietnam. We note that the foreign operations enjoy better sales growth than the domestic one.</li>
<li>
Business lines: CRC categorizes itself into three key business lines (fashion, hard-line, and food). The fashion business has the largest revenue and highest margin, though it seems very saturated in Thailand.</li>
</ul>

Central Retail Corp (CRC) looks set to steal the IPO crown from either AWC (if set in 2019) or PTTOR (if set in 2020). In this review, we explore the business side of the IPO before diving into the valuations.


The IPO is underwritten by Phatra and is good for 1.73bn shares and will take place alongside the Robinson tender offer (at Bt66.5/sh).

The Business includes Central Dept Store, the country's largest chain by revenues, which also owns a majority stake in Robinsons (53.83% pre-tender) and non-listed subsidiaries in other formats, such as convenience store (Family Mart), construction materials (Thai Watsadu), supermarkets (Tops). It is run by the Chirathivat family, Thailand's third richest family.


Foreign operations include La Renasciente, Italy's largest department store chain, and Big C Vietnam. We note that the foreign operations enjoy better sales growth than the domestic one.

Business lines: CRC categorizes itself into three key business lines (fashion, hard-line, and food). The fashion business has the largest revenue and highest margin, though it seems very saturated in Thailand.


IPO Radar: CRC (Part I), Thai Department Store Behemoth