The PSA Weekly Research Round up for the Week to 6 December 2024

Weekly Comment Summary
Tokyo Gas is under pressure from an activist investor to restructure and improve asset efficiency, purportedly pushing for latent values of key property holdings to be unlocked.
PSA’s Tokyo-based analyst William Nestuk shares his perspective on the situation.

PSA Company Visits, Tours and Interviews
• Visited: Fujita Kanko (9722 JT), Kakuyasu Group (7686 JT), TKP (3479 JT)
• 1-1 Call with: Insource (6200 JT)
• Presentations at: Sakai Chemical (4078 JT), Sumitomo Chemical (4005 JT), Teijin (3401 JT), Nippon Sanso (4091 JT)
• Corporate Access: Kyoritsu Maintenance (9616 JT)

PSA in the Press
In an interview with Bloomberg, PSA’s autos analyst Julie Boote highlights why Nissan is underperforming. Nissan Stock Performs Worst in Five Decades Under Current CEO – Bloomberg [/news/articles/2024-12-01/nissan-stock-performs-worst-in-five-decades-under-current-ceo?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTczMzExMzQ3OSwiZXhwIjoxNzMzNzE4Mjc5LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJTTkhaMUlUMVVNMFcwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiIyMkUzNkEyRkU1NjI0QTczQTNDOEMxOTY3REEwMTczMCJ9.d-AmhtZkhrtSOz8BE5YThhFWs1e-z0KZiRrHAaIvtto ]

PSA Weekly Contents at a Glance
Reports / Flash Notes Summaries
1. Toyota’s Possible Path to Unwinding Its Cross-shareholdings
2. Moriya Transportation Engine & Mfg (6266 JT) – Repair Continue Rising
3. Shift Inc (3697 JT) – Time for a Reassessment
4. Insource (6200 JT) Update – Good Start to Q1
5. M&A Research Institute (9552 JT) Update – Q1 Still a Tough YoY Hurdle
6. Visional (4194 JT) Update – FY25 Q1 Should Provide Insight into OP Outperformance Potential
Company / Sector / Thematic Comments
Technology: Consumer Electronics, Gaming
1. Video Games Industry Round-Up
2. Video Game PC Specs Starting to Go Off the Charts
3. Is FY24 Q2 a Gamechanger for Market Perception of Sony?
4. Other News & Moves That Caught Our Eye
Technology: Industrial Electronics / Components / Semis & SPE / Precision
5. As Kioxia IPOs, Should We be Worried About NAND Pricing?
6. Outlook for AI in Japan in 2025
7. Other News & Moves That Caught Our Eye
Chemicals / Materials
8. Asahi Kasei and UBE: Carbonates Strategies
9. Kaneka Adds Starbucks Japan as a Customer
10. Other News & Moves That Caught Our Eye
Autos / New Mobility
11. Japanese Automakers Post US Auto Sales Gains in November
12. Nissan’s CFO Stephen Ma Set to Leave Company
13. Nissan: More Bad News Could Trigger Management Changes
14. Other News & Moves That Caught Our Eye
Auto Parts / Machinery / Capital Goods
15. Cable Makers Continue to Hit New Highs
16. Other News & Moves That Caught Our Eye
Internet / eCommerce
17. Net Protections: What’s Next?
18. Recruit Shares Hit an All-Time High
19. Gree Inc: A Revisit
20. Other News & Moves That Caught Our Eye
Enterprise Software / IT Services
21. Appier Extends GenAI Applications Across All Its Products
22. Other News & Moves That Caught Our Eye
Pharma / Healthcare
23. Update on Chugai’s Actemra
24. Chugai’s PiaSky – A Rare Disease Hopeful
25. Insomnia Drug Update from Nxera
26. Other News & Moves That Caught Our Eye
Small- / Mid-Cap Insights
27. Insource November KPIs
28. Intermestic’s November Same Store Sales Gain +17% YoY
Miscellaneous / Market / Strategy / Macro
29. MOF Series Details Slowdown in Japanese Business in 2024 Q3
30. Monetary Base Shrinks Again
31. Wage Data Weaker Than Expected but BoJ Options Remain Open
32. Other News & Moves That Caught Our Eye
List of Recently Published PSA Notes & Reports
Important Disclosure Statement from Pelham Smithers Associates Limited