The PSA Weekly Research Round up for the Week to 20 December 2024

Weekly Comment Summary
The founder of Nihon Falcom, Masayuki Kato passed away on 15 Dec. While his company never hit the heights promised, he is still a hero among some gamers for inventing the PC-based action RPG.
However, his legacy is not entirely positive and, as Pelham Smithers explains, it is an interesting warning of the problems of a certain type of Japanese style management.

PSA Company Visits, Tours and Interviews
• Visited: Park24 (4666 JT), Intermestic (262A JT), Tokyo Ohka Kogyo (4186 JT)
• 1-1 Call with: Anicom Holdings (8513 JT), CUC (9158 JT)
• Presentations at: Park 24 (4666 JT), Shin-Etsu Chemical (4063 JT), Sumitomo Chemical (4005 JT), Sumitomo Pharma (4506 JT), Kuraray (3405 JT), Mitsui Chemicals (4183 JT)

PSA in the Press
1. In this Financial Times article, ‘Monetising data’: how Hitachi has soared with bets on AI future, Pelham Smithers highlights the growth and future potential of Lumada.
2. PSA’s Autos / New Mobility analyst Julie Boote is among several analysts providing their thoughts on the Honda-Nissan merger talks in this Bloomberg article: Nissan Shares Surge on Possible Honda Merger News: Street Wrap [18 Dec].
3. Pelham Smithers features as a headline contributor to this Bloomberg write-up on Sony. Sony’s Record Climb Makes Investors More Bullish on Gaming Boom - Bloomberg

PSA Weekly Contents at a Glance
Reports / Flash Notes Summaries
1. Mitsubishi Electric (6503 JT) – Steady Upswing
2. Bridgestone (5108 JT)
3. Chugai Pharmaceutical (4519 JT)
4. Net Protections Holdings (7383 JT) – A Revisit
Company / Sector / Thematic Comments
Technology: Consumer Electronics, Gaming
1. Video Games Industry Round-up: Japanese Titles Feature at the Game Awards 2024
2. To What Extent is Panasonic a “Trump Winner” or “Trump Loser”?
3. Sony Hits 20bil CMOS Sensor Unit Shipment Milestone
4. Sony Takes 10% Stake in Kadokawa
5. Other News & Moves That Caught Our Eye
Technology: Industrial Electronics / Components / Semis & SPE / Precision
6. Other Tech-Related News & Moves That Caught Our Eye
Chemicals / Materials
7. Sumitomo Chemical, Sumitomo Pharma Form JV for Cell Therapies
8. Other News & Moves That Caught Our Eye
Autos / New Mobility
9. Honda and Nissan in Merger Talks
10. Honda-Nissan Part II: What to Expect from Next Week’s Merger Talks
11. Tesla’s 2025 Sales Goal Might Be out of Reach
12. Other News & Moves That Caught Our Eye
Enterprise Software / IT Services
13. Sansan Overtakes Money Forward and Shift in Market Cap
14. Cybozu Price Increases Provide Base for Bullish FY25 Forecasts that are Well Ahead of Consensus Estimates
Pharma / Healthcare
15. Pharma Round-Up
16. Other News & Moves That Caught Our Eye
Small- / Mid-Cap Insights
17. Visitor Numbers to Japan Continue to Rise
18. Park24: FY24 Shareholder Equity Ratio 30%+, Dividend Hike for FY25
19. Anicom November KPIs
20. CUC to Sell Noah Konzer Facilities
Miscellaneous / Market / Strategy / Macro
21. December PMI Data Rises, Machinery Orders Surge
22. BoJ Leaves Rates Unchanged
23. Japan Nationwide CPI Jumps +2.9% YoY in November
24. Other News & Moves That Caught Our Eye
List of Recently Published PSA Notes & Reports