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).

Intouch Placement - Wide Discount to NAV but Could Be Held Back by Overhang

Intouch: Temasek Trims Stake; More To Come

Reality Check XXIV: How High Can Bumrungrad Bid Go?

Reality Check 2019: What Premium Does Thanachart Deserve from TMB's Takeover?

StubWorld: Intouch Gains On Possible Sale of Thaicom

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 Bottom-Up

Five interesting developments or trends we spotted recently that may influence Thai equities: <ul>
<li>
Intouch bets on P2P lending with an undisclosed investment in PeerPower. The startup is run by a Morgan Stanley veteran and charges 6-22% interest rates...far higher than the average bank.</li>
<li>
Eastspring plans to acquire Thanachart's asset management unit and consolidate it with TMB's. The process allows them to build the country's 4th largest asset manager.</li>
<li>
General Motors shuts down its Thai production. Even with its capacity of 150,000 cars per year, GM is a gadfly in 'Detroit of Asia'. Furthermore, Great Wall's entry in their place should cushion this high-profile blow.</li>
<li>
Donki's entry and expansion into Thailand is positive to its new investor, Sahapat, which takes a 22% interest as well as its existing one, TOA Paint.</li>
<li>
Bangkok Dusit makes a tender offer for Bumrungrad at Bt125/sh. The merger of the two giants would be an end game to the long competition and courtship, but it's also the first major move since founder Dr. Prasert left the management role.</li>
</ul>

Five interesting developments or trends we spotted recently that may influence Thai equities: 

Intouch bets on P2P lending with an undisclosed investment in PeerPower. The startup is run by a Morgan Stanley veteran and charges 6-22% interest rates...far higher than the average bank.

Eastspring plans to acquire Thanachart's asset management unit and consolidate it with TMB's. The process allows them to build the country's 4th largest asset manager.

General Motors shuts down its Thai production. Even with its capacity of 150,000 cars per year, GM is a gadfly in 'Detroit of Asia'. Furthermore, Great Wall's entry in their place should cushion this high-profile blow.

Donki's entry and expansion into Thailand is positive to its new investor, Sahapat, which takes a 22% interest as well as its existing one, TOA Paint.

Bangkok Dusit makes a tender offer for Bumrungrad at Bt125/sh. The merger of the two giants would be an end game to the long competition and courtship, but it's also the first major move since founder Dr. Prasert left the management role.


Snippets #37: Intouch's Financing Bet, Healthcare Hun!

Intouch Holdings

Snippets #37: Intouch's Financing Bet, Healthcare Hun!