PSA Japan Research Round-Up for the Week ending June 21

 The Weekly Comment by Julie Boote
Alarm bells are ringing in Europe as the EV revolution approaches and battery supply becomes a critical concern.
 Reports / Flash Notes Summaries
1. Breaking Up Sony (6758 JT) (Revisited [Again])
2. LINE (3938 JT) Fumbles in a Cloud of Uncertainties
3. Daifuku (6383 JT) – FA / DA Improves; eFA Wild Card

 Company / Sector / Thematic Comments at a Glance
Technology: Consumer Electronics / Gaming
1. Just Dance 2020: Last Game for Nintendo’s (7974 JT) Wii
2. Sony (6758 JT) MiB Tops US Box Office Despite Poor Reviews
3. Huawei’s International Handset Sales Seen Down 40~60%
Technology: SPE
4. DRAM Prices Continue to Fall
Chemicals / Materials
5. Sekisui Chemical’s (4204 JT) CFRP Acquisition
6. EUV Adoption Spreads
Autos
7. Toyota (7203 JT) Following in VW’s (VW GR) Footsteps with Dedicated EV Platform
8. Thai Auto Market Remains Healthy – For Now
9. Quiet Times for Honda (7267 JT)
10. Nissan (7201 JT) and Renault (RNO FP) to Partner with Waymo
Auto Parts / Machinery
11. IHI (7013 JT) Hoping to Fly
12. HCM (6305 JT) Holds a Dull R&D Meeting
Internet
13. Facebook (FB US) Unveils Libra, its Own Cryptocurrency
14. Nexon (3659 KT) Falls on Rumours of Stalled Discussions
15. Oh No! for ZOZO (3092 JT)
16. LINE (3938 JT) Fumbles in the Cloud of Uncertainties
17. LINE is Reportedly Close to a Japanese Crypto-exchange Licence
Enterprise Software
18. Nomura Holdings Reduces Stake in NRI
19. Lessons from China’s Unstaffed Stores
Macro
20. A Useful Bounce in the April AIAI Data

PSA Company Visits, Tours and Interviews
• Visited: Asahi Kasei (3407 JT), Nippon Shokubai (4114 JT), Mitsui Chemicals (4183 JT)
• Interviewed / Conference Call with: NRI (4307 JT); RPA Holdings (6572 JT), Daifuku (6383 JT), IHI (7013 JT), Denso (6902 JT), Aisin Seiki (7259 JT)
• Attended strategy / mid-term plan announcement meetings at: HCM (6305 JT)