We met with all 3 of the incumbent Japanese Telcos & Rakuten in Tokyo this week. Every time we visit, we are reminded of how much better the telco industry is in Japan vs other DMs, as the MNOs continue to expand their scope of operations beyond traditional telco driving higher returns and growth.
Today, Rakuten Mobile launched a new mobile plan aimed at seniors (65 years old and above). In addition, an update on its mobile subscribers figure reflected a slowdown in net additions, which was behind consensus and our forecasts for Q3. We share our thoughts below.
GREATER CHINA Sector Hong Kong Property Results wrap-up for Hong Kong developers: Navigating the cycle. INDONESIA Update XL Axiata (EXCL IJ/BUY/Rp2,270/Target: Rp2,900) Fixed broadband ARPU might increase by 10% post-acquisition of ServeCo. MALAYSIA Sector Utilities A strong 2Q24 with companies coming in broadly within expe...
Positive Outlook Priced In; Focus On Quality Laggards The sector posted a muted 2Q24 PPOP growth of 3% yoy (down 2% qoq). With the sector trading at 1.0SD above its historical mean P/B and earnings growth lagging the KLCI, much of the favourable macro-outlook appears to be priced in. Although stock prices are likely to continue trending upwards with sustained foreign inflows, we maintain MARKET WEIGHT and recommend shifting to high-quality laggards with Public Bank and Hong Leong Bank as our pre...
GREATER CHINA Economics Trade Exports rebounded in August but outlook remains challenging. Sector IT Hardware Maintain preference for the more defensive AI-device plays as uncertainty remains high. Maintain OVERWEIGHT. INDONESIA Update Bank Mandiri (BMRI IJ/HOLD/Rp7,250/Target: Rp7,760) 7M24: Strong ...
GREATER CHINA Results BYD Electronic (285 HK/BUY/HK$27.65/Target: HK$42.50) 1H24: Results missed on margins. Expect peak season to bolster profitability in 2H24. China Feihe (6186 HK/BUY/HK$4.04/Target: HK$5.22) 1H24: Steady profit growth; accelerated revenue expansion in 2H24. China Longyuan Power (916 HK/HOLD/HK$6.16/Target: HK$6.10) 1H24: Below expectations; power generation dragged by low wind speed. ...
After Powell’s Jackson Hole speech on 23 August, we see a turning point starting with a US Fed rate cut in Sep 24 and lower rates heading into 2025. In the Singapore market, REITs and the property sector should benefit, as should highly-geared companies and those looking to recycle capital. Our current forecasts have incorporated lower NIMs for banks which we believe are protected by their high dividend yields.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS Results Crystal International (2232 HK/BUY/HK$3.54/Target: HK$4.92) Crystal’s 1H24 net profit grew 14.1% yoy to US$84m, representing 44% of our full-year estimate. Interim DPS almost tripled to 13.8 HK cents and interim payout ratio reached 60%. Management has turned more positive on 2024-25 as it almost doubled its 2024 labour addition target, and is confident on registering a 20% gross margin in the coming years. We raise dividend payout forecast to 60% in 2024-26 and expect...
Digital Bridge has announced a tender offer for the shares of JTower, the leading Japanese Tower Company. Although the valuation is fairly low, we would not see that as bearish for Global Towers. Thoughts and implications below.
Incumbents led a faster service revenue growth in Q1 driven by non-mobile, with Softbank ahead. Industry mobile growth kept steady but the continued divergence in mobile trend between NTT and peers appears to confirm the benefits of integrated financial services. Softbank was the notable share gainer this quarter (1.1% MSR gain sequentially), having grown its mobile ARPU for the first time since FY19.
Despite beating on topline sparked by Fintech, overall profitability was still below expectations. While Mobile has seen improvements, pace of improvement remains too slow in our view to justify the share price. ARPU continues to lack traction.
GREATER CHINA Strategy Alpha Picks: August Conviction Calls We expect stimulus to be announced in August and add COSCO Shipping Ports, Haier Smart Home, and KE Holdings to our BUY list and add SELL call on WuXi Bio, and XPeng. Small-Mid Cap Monthly Reiterate BUY on Crystal amid share price pullback; eyes on interim dividend surprise. Sector Automobile ...
GREATER CHINA Economics PMI Stuck in a soft patch. Results New Oriental Education & Technology Group (EDU US/BUY/US$69.25/Target: US$90.00) 4QFY24: Earnings miss; impact from East Buy to carve out after 1QFY25. Xinyi Solar Holdings (968 HK/HOLD/HK$3.71/Target: HK$4.00) 1H24: In line; murky demand outlook ahead. Downgrade to HOLD. Update Prudential (2378 HK/BUY/HK$69.90/Target: HK$12...
We are shifting our preference to edge AI picks, as we see an improved visibility on the recovery in global smartphone and PC shipment in 2H24. With this, coupled with the pick-up in AI device shipment towards year-end and a more undemanding valuation, we expect edge AI plays to outperform the AI infrastructure supply chain, which is now under pressure from profit-taking, and mounting geopolitical risks. Maintain OVERWEIGHT. Top picks: Lenovo and BYDE.
GREATER CHINA Sector Automobile Weekly: PEV sales down 4% yoy but up 8% wow during 8-14 July, in line. Maintain MARKET WEIGHT. Top BUYs: Geely, CATL and Tuopu. Top SELL: XPeng. INDONESIA Update Telkom Indonesia (TLKM IJ/BUY/Rp3,250/Target: Rp4,200) 2024 fixed broadband revenue to see moderate growth of 8% yoy; maintain BUY. MALAYSIA Results Alpha IVF (ALPHA MK/BUY/RM0.32/Target: RM0.40) ...
Broadband industry growth has slowed over the last couple of quarters. For 2Q24, we expect reported broadband net adds below last year and pre-pandemic levels. We estimate that after adjusting for the one-time impact of ACP related disconnects, net adds were still below last year but were in-line with pre-pandemic levels. We think consensus expectations for the quarter are a little too negative, especially for Cable, and we expect reported adds to be slightly better than expectations.
The UK industrial sector continues to strengthen with June output and order books increasing for a second consecutive month, albeit at a slightly slower pace than in May. We think it is too soon to declare conclusively a turnaround, but recent industrial and economic data have been reassuring, as inflation returned to the BoE’s 2% target and sentiment remained positive.
Service revenue trends for the three incumbents were faster as mobile inflected, coupled with improvements in non-mobile. Meanwhile, the sector’s EBITDA grew strongly which was well flagged in Q3. Divergence in mobile trend appears to confirm the benefits of integrated financial services with mobile as NTT and peers diverged further; former extended its decline while peers accelerated to near 3% YoY.
GREATER CHINA Sector Automobile Weekly: EV sales pull back last week. Maintain MARKET WEIGHT. Top BUYs: Geely, CATL, Tuopu and Joyson Electronics. Top SELLs: XPeng. Internet Strategic revamp to foster re-accelerating growth and shareholders’ return. INDONESIA Update Bank Tabungan Negara (BBTN IJ/BUY/Rp1,240/Target: Rp1,700) ...
Unfortunately, this report is not available for the investor type or country you selected.
Report is subscription only.
Thank you, your report is ready.
Thank you, your report is ready.