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).

Five Biggest Lessons from Thai Financial Crisis

Value Traps: Dinosaur Stocks in the Digital Age

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

Thailand Consumer discretionary / Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In this review, we highlight the importance for investors to: 1) not 'jump the gun' and sell on companies that are in decline; and 2) think logically about the macro picture, since those may have an impact on whether companies can recover or would lose relevance in the marketplace altogether.From our observations, the companies in Thailand that do turn around tend to follow one or more of these four measures, namely: 1) operations: a complete transformation rather than minor patch-ups (eg. KARMART, IVL); 2) competitive strategy: changing the frame of reference (PIZZA...now part of MINT); 3) debt restructuring (BLAND, TPI); and 4) marketing: re-branding (eg. DTAC, BTS). Whether you are stuck with certain investments or thinking about investing in potential turnaround plays, observing these four traits or steps could be helpful.

In this review, we highlight the importance for investors to: 1) not 'jump the gun' and sell on companies that are in decline; and 2) think logically about the macro picture, since those may have an impact on whether companies can recover or would lose relevance in the marketplace altogether.From our observations, the companies in Thailand that do turn around tend to follow one or more of these four measures, namely: 1) operations: a complete transformation rather than minor patch-ups (eg. KARMART, IVL); 2) competitive strategy: changing the frame of reference (PIZZA...now part of MINT); 3) debt restructuring (BLAND, TPI); and 4) marketing: re-branding (eg. DTAC, BTS). Whether you are stuck with certain investments or thinking about investing in potential turnaround plays, observing these four traits or steps could be helpful.

Thai Rung Union Car Public Company Limited (TRU TB)

Thai Rung Union Car Public Company Limited

Textile Prestige Public Company Limited (TPCORP TB)

Saha Pathanapibul Public Company Limited (SPC TB)

Turnarounds: Finding A Phoenix In the Land of the Dead