The correction is over?
โพสต์แล้ว: ศุกร์ ส.ค. 31, 2007 2:14 pm
Why wasnt Asia more defensive to exogenous concerns?
Asian economic growth may have de-coupled from the US but share prices have
not. In fact, Asian equities fell more than the US over the past month. Asia is no
longer a warrant on the US consumer and share prices will re-rate, in our view.
However, seeing is believing. It could take a recession in the US for many to believe
that Asia genuinely can decouple. In the meantime, expect more volatility in 2H07.
Thailand witnessed selling across all major sectors
Thailand was vulnerable because of the relatively low liquidity and dependence
upon foreign demand for equities. Selling was across all major sectors and defied
any thematic factors or trends. Energy, banks and telecoms each fell 15-17%,
defying their different earnings drivers. However, more positively, companies we
like have since reversed much of their initial losses and the earnings outlook
remains largely unchanged. The conclusion, changing the weighting in your
portfolio per se does not help but, we would avoid purely speculative names.
Are there any precedents for Thailand decoupling?
On three occasions over the past 20 years the SET Index has risen significantly
despite a weak US: 1) in 1987 the SET rose by 38% versus only 2% for US
equities; 2) in 1992 by 26% versus 4% for the US; and 3) in 2001-2002, Thailand
rose by 13% and 17% whilst the US fell. The common denomination was Thailand
emerging from a crisis. Sound familiar? However, this requires accelerating
domestic consumption and investment. The risk remains political uncertainty.
Impact for our Index targets
Neither would we panic into selling;
we continue to expect a V-shaped recovery in Thai EPS in 2008.
And finally, the grey dollar
Nearly 200,000 British-born citizens emigrated in 2006; the highest number since
records began. It highlights the global trend of people retiring overseas or buying
second homes. This has been a major growth driver for Florida and parts of Spain
and Australia for some years; we loosely refer to this as the grey dollar. Due to
the lower cost of living, improving healthcare. Thailand can be a major beneficiary if
policymakers are enlightened. We like BGH, BH .
Finance theory version 1.0 tells us that the fair value of any asset is the net present
value of future cash flows to investors. If Asian economies (inc. Thailand) can prove
that growth really is no longer dependent upon the US consumer then equities
should ultimately re-rate. However, seeing is believing. It will probably take a near
recession in the US for most investors to believe that Asia can genuinely decouple.
Expect further volatility in 2H07
TJ Bond, Merrill Lynchs senior Asian economist, recently published a short report
entitled roadmap through the storm. It is important because whilst Merrill Lynch
remains positive on Asian growth, it cautions about further bad news in 2H07.
TJ believes that this correction is unlike previous market corrections. That, the
current volatility marks a fundamental inflection point. He identifies four stages:
1) risk reduction and credit concerns (this is where we are now); 2) US Federal
Reserve easing; 3) US growth scare; and 4) an Asian liquidity boom.
Stage 2 speaks for itself. Merrill Lynch believes the market is already assuming
the US Federal Reserve will cut by 50bps when it next meets on September 18.
If the Fed cuts as expected, this would be short-term positive for equities.
However, Merrill Lynch believes investors will quickly realize that the Fed is
cutting because the credit cycle is rolling over and the US economy is slowing.
This may reopen the debate of Asia decoupling. Merrills view is clear the region
has already weathered a big slowdown in US demand. A further slowdown from
here even a mild recession would have little impact upon Asian growth.
When the dust settles, three main trends will be clear. US rates will be lower. The
US economy will have slowed near stall speed. And Asian growth will remain
strong. Merrill Lynch notes: Monetary easing and weak growth in one region
pushes capital to strong growth regions, where it can earn higher returns. That
was true in the 1990s, when capital fled Asia for the US. A decade later, the trend
could reverse: capital could leave the US for Asia. This would be extremely
supportive for Asian growth, currencies and asset markets. But, before that, we
have to navigate two more stages.
Thailand witnessed selling across all major sectors.
If Merrill Lynch is correct, where can you hide over the next three months? Equity
performance over the past month suggests that in the short-term you cannot hide
from a broad reduction in risk appetite. Selling was across all liquid sectors and
defied any thematic factors or trends. However, on a more positive note, many of
the companies we like have since reversed much of these losses and the
earnings outlook remains largely unchanged.
The selling was foreign-led. Month-to-date, foreign investors have sold net
THB38 bn of Thai equities. Foreign investors typically own the larger names.
Thus, when they sold Asia this summer (either for their own account or they went
short stock), naturally, it was these stocks they sold. In the absence of equal
demand from local investors most large cap stocks fell sharply.
Thematic investing (e.g. overweighting plays on still strong regional growth or for
a recovery in domestic demand) did not help; we witnessed selling across all
major sectors. The three sectors with the largest weighting in the SET Index are
energy, banking and communication. Together they comprise 57% of the total
market capitalization. They have very different earnings drivers and yet they each
fell between 15% and 17% in three weeks.
Given the randomness of the selling we review the performance of individual
stocks below. The conclusions. First, that whilst the large caps typically fell
most because the selling was led by foreign investors - they were also the
fastest to recover and a significant proportion of the losses in the three weeks
following July 26 have since been erased. Secondly, that within large cap stocks,
it is the better quality companies which have rallied the most.
In a market where many stocks are cheap, why do you need to buy the second
tier names? We do not think you do. Stick with quality. In Beau Thai XXIII we
identified those companies under our coverage where we had a high degree of
conviction that they would generate compounded double-digit performance over
the next four years. This has not changed. The portfolio:
BGH, AP, PS,, etc.
Healthcare: The worst performing sector during the correction and, by some
distance, the worst performing relative to its size. This reflects significant foreign
ownership of Bumrungrad and Bangkok Dusit Medical services and their
valuation premium to the broad market. Of the two companies, only BH has since
staged a meaningful recovery (it has risen by 10% over the past month). The
continued underperformance of BGH reflects its 2Q07 results were below
expectations. We have lowered our forecasts for gross margins but maintain our
BUY rating because of significant volume driven growth. Both stocks are also
leveraged to our theme of the grey dollar (discussed below).
Property development: Similar to finance and securities, the high beta nature of
the sector was mirrored in the sectors performance over the past month. In
aggregate, it fell 16% in the three weeks following July 26 and has since only risen
by 5%. A dozen stocks fell by 20% or more. However, we believe this ignores the
roadmap which Merrill Lynch paints above. That is, the next response by the US
Fed should be to cut rates. This will give the Thai monetary Policy Committee room
to reduce Thai interest rates; which in any event were trending lower. It also ignores
that some of the larger listed companies have taken advantage of conservativeness
on the part of local lenders and buyers to take market share. This should be
reflected in strong earnings growth over the next two years. The sector is also
leveraged to our theme of asset reflation. We rate many of the property companies
under our coverage as BUY. Our top picks would include: Asian property and central Pattana. We also like Land & House.
In the past, tourists stayed in hotels or serviced apartments. But, increasing
numbers of returning visitors are buying property. This enables them to enjoy
owning a second home and an investment which can generate rental income
when they are not resident. CBRE notes: for the past few years expatriates living
in Asia were the main buyers but this is changing with more residential
purchasers comprising of retiring people from Northern Europe.
Motivating factors for buyers include: climate, quality and cost of living, transport
infrastructure, public safety, communication and IT capability, high quality
healthcare, education and supporting and recreational services e.g. restaurants,
shopping malls, cinema, golf and other sporting activities. Thailand arguably
offers the best value propositions in the region. However, there is need for
significant, further improvement if we are going to maintain this position e.g. in
mass transit networks for Bangkok, availability of broadband, further investment
in specialist healthcare, a critical mass of retirees in key locations to create a
community feeling amongst immigrating elderly populations.
Most critical of all, however, is the ability to safely purchase property. In this last area,
Thailand is lagging behind almost every other Asian country. In Malaysia there are
now no restrictions on foreign purchase of property. In Singapore there are no
restrictions on foreign nationals buying condominiums, and 99-year leases are
available for some landed property. We hope a Thai future government will address
this deficiency but, we are realistic that this does not seem likely in the immediate
future. The potential, however, is obvious. Companies most geared to this trend would
include hospitals, resort-property developers and Airports of Thailand.
Price objective basis & risk
Bangkok Dusit Medical Services (XDPFF)
We reiterate our Buy rating on Bangkok Dusit Medical Services (BGH). Our 12-month
PO of Bt47 per share is based on DCF methodology with a discount rate of 8.40%
and long-term growth rate of 3%. Our PO is also equivalent to 2008E PEG of 0.87x.
Risks to achieving our PO are events that prevent foreign patients coming to
Thailand i.e. SARS, bird flu, and terrorism, economic crisis, and the company not
able to manage costs.
Bumrungrad Hospi (BUHHF)
Our 12-month share price objective (PO) of Bt58.75 is based on Discounted Cash
Flow (DCF) methodology with a discount rate of 8.37% and long-term growth rate
of 3%
Asian Properties (XPPKF)
Our 12-month price objective of Bt7.4/share is based on sum-of-the parts
valuation that values the core operations by the average of 1) 2008E P/E of 14x,
which is a 20% premium to our target market P/E excluding banks; and
2) discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation. We take into account the value of its
holding in Quality Construction (QCON) (14%) and Prebuilt (PREB) (26%).
While 2008E P/E target will focus more on the short-term earnings, its does
not take into account APs high backlog on hand and lower revenue risks AP
has in 2008E-2009E.
Risks and concerns:
Risks to achieving our price objective are higher-than-expected competition
among developers in the condominium market, slower presales than expected,
rising land prices and rising construction cost.
(+) นักลงทุนต่างประเทศซื้อหุ้นไทยประเทศเดียว
ที่มา : Reuters
COUNTRY 22/08/2007 23/08/2007 24/08/2007 27/08/2007 28/08/2007 29/08/2007 ACCUMULATE (USDmn)
Thailand (12.4) 48.8 0.18 10.64 20.01 1.93 69.2
Indonesia (4.4) 35.1 20.57 34.58 (66.50) (6.76) 12.5
Philippines (3.3) (1.8) (0.94) N/A (3.08) (2.35) (11.4)
Taiwan (131.8) 354.9 (181.50) 109.10 (48.80) (310.60) (208.7)
Korea (531.6) (68.2) (246.83) 74.32 (330.93) (748.90) (1,852.2)
Total (683.5) 368.7 (408.5) 228.64 (429.30) (1,066.69) (1,990.6)
Asian economic growth may have de-coupled from the US but share prices have
not. In fact, Asian equities fell more than the US over the past month. Asia is no
longer a warrant on the US consumer and share prices will re-rate, in our view.
However, seeing is believing. It could take a recession in the US for many to believe
that Asia genuinely can decouple. In the meantime, expect more volatility in 2H07.
Thailand witnessed selling across all major sectors
Thailand was vulnerable because of the relatively low liquidity and dependence
upon foreign demand for equities. Selling was across all major sectors and defied
any thematic factors or trends. Energy, banks and telecoms each fell 15-17%,
defying their different earnings drivers. However, more positively, companies we
like have since reversed much of their initial losses and the earnings outlook
remains largely unchanged. The conclusion, changing the weighting in your
portfolio per se does not help but, we would avoid purely speculative names.
Are there any precedents for Thailand decoupling?
On three occasions over the past 20 years the SET Index has risen significantly
despite a weak US: 1) in 1987 the SET rose by 38% versus only 2% for US
equities; 2) in 1992 by 26% versus 4% for the US; and 3) in 2001-2002, Thailand
rose by 13% and 17% whilst the US fell. The common denomination was Thailand
emerging from a crisis. Sound familiar? However, this requires accelerating
domestic consumption and investment. The risk remains political uncertainty.
Impact for our Index targets
Neither would we panic into selling;
we continue to expect a V-shaped recovery in Thai EPS in 2008.
And finally, the grey dollar
Nearly 200,000 British-born citizens emigrated in 2006; the highest number since
records began. It highlights the global trend of people retiring overseas or buying
second homes. This has been a major growth driver for Florida and parts of Spain
and Australia for some years; we loosely refer to this as the grey dollar. Due to
the lower cost of living, improving healthcare. Thailand can be a major beneficiary if
policymakers are enlightened. We like BGH, BH .
Finance theory version 1.0 tells us that the fair value of any asset is the net present
value of future cash flows to investors. If Asian economies (inc. Thailand) can prove
that growth really is no longer dependent upon the US consumer then equities
should ultimately re-rate. However, seeing is believing. It will probably take a near
recession in the US for most investors to believe that Asia can genuinely decouple.
Expect further volatility in 2H07
TJ Bond, Merrill Lynchs senior Asian economist, recently published a short report
entitled roadmap through the storm. It is important because whilst Merrill Lynch
remains positive on Asian growth, it cautions about further bad news in 2H07.
TJ believes that this correction is unlike previous market corrections. That, the
current volatility marks a fundamental inflection point. He identifies four stages:
1) risk reduction and credit concerns (this is where we are now); 2) US Federal
Reserve easing; 3) US growth scare; and 4) an Asian liquidity boom.
Stage 2 speaks for itself. Merrill Lynch believes the market is already assuming
the US Federal Reserve will cut by 50bps when it next meets on September 18.
If the Fed cuts as expected, this would be short-term positive for equities.
However, Merrill Lynch believes investors will quickly realize that the Fed is
cutting because the credit cycle is rolling over and the US economy is slowing.
This may reopen the debate of Asia decoupling. Merrills view is clear the region
has already weathered a big slowdown in US demand. A further slowdown from
here even a mild recession would have little impact upon Asian growth.
When the dust settles, three main trends will be clear. US rates will be lower. The
US economy will have slowed near stall speed. And Asian growth will remain
strong. Merrill Lynch notes: Monetary easing and weak growth in one region
pushes capital to strong growth regions, where it can earn higher returns. That
was true in the 1990s, when capital fled Asia for the US. A decade later, the trend
could reverse: capital could leave the US for Asia. This would be extremely
supportive for Asian growth, currencies and asset markets. But, before that, we
have to navigate two more stages.
Thailand witnessed selling across all major sectors.
If Merrill Lynch is correct, where can you hide over the next three months? Equity
performance over the past month suggests that in the short-term you cannot hide
from a broad reduction in risk appetite. Selling was across all liquid sectors and
defied any thematic factors or trends. However, on a more positive note, many of
the companies we like have since reversed much of these losses and the
earnings outlook remains largely unchanged.
The selling was foreign-led. Month-to-date, foreign investors have sold net
THB38 bn of Thai equities. Foreign investors typically own the larger names.
Thus, when they sold Asia this summer (either for their own account or they went
short stock), naturally, it was these stocks they sold. In the absence of equal
demand from local investors most large cap stocks fell sharply.
Thematic investing (e.g. overweighting plays on still strong regional growth or for
a recovery in domestic demand) did not help; we witnessed selling across all
major sectors. The three sectors with the largest weighting in the SET Index are
energy, banking and communication. Together they comprise 57% of the total
market capitalization. They have very different earnings drivers and yet they each
fell between 15% and 17% in three weeks.
Given the randomness of the selling we review the performance of individual
stocks below. The conclusions. First, that whilst the large caps typically fell
most because the selling was led by foreign investors - they were also the
fastest to recover and a significant proportion of the losses in the three weeks
following July 26 have since been erased. Secondly, that within large cap stocks,
it is the better quality companies which have rallied the most.
In a market where many stocks are cheap, why do you need to buy the second
tier names? We do not think you do. Stick with quality. In Beau Thai XXIII we
identified those companies under our coverage where we had a high degree of
conviction that they would generate compounded double-digit performance over
the next four years. This has not changed. The portfolio:
BGH, AP, PS,, etc.
Healthcare: The worst performing sector during the correction and, by some
distance, the worst performing relative to its size. This reflects significant foreign
ownership of Bumrungrad and Bangkok Dusit Medical services and their
valuation premium to the broad market. Of the two companies, only BH has since
staged a meaningful recovery (it has risen by 10% over the past month). The
continued underperformance of BGH reflects its 2Q07 results were below
expectations. We have lowered our forecasts for gross margins but maintain our
BUY rating because of significant volume driven growth. Both stocks are also
leveraged to our theme of the grey dollar (discussed below).
Property development: Similar to finance and securities, the high beta nature of
the sector was mirrored in the sectors performance over the past month. In
aggregate, it fell 16% in the three weeks following July 26 and has since only risen
by 5%. A dozen stocks fell by 20% or more. However, we believe this ignores the
roadmap which Merrill Lynch paints above. That is, the next response by the US
Fed should be to cut rates. This will give the Thai monetary Policy Committee room
to reduce Thai interest rates; which in any event were trending lower. It also ignores
that some of the larger listed companies have taken advantage of conservativeness
on the part of local lenders and buyers to take market share. This should be
reflected in strong earnings growth over the next two years. The sector is also
leveraged to our theme of asset reflation. We rate many of the property companies
under our coverage as BUY. Our top picks would include: Asian property and central Pattana. We also like Land & House.
In the past, tourists stayed in hotels or serviced apartments. But, increasing
numbers of returning visitors are buying property. This enables them to enjoy
owning a second home and an investment which can generate rental income
when they are not resident. CBRE notes: for the past few years expatriates living
in Asia were the main buyers but this is changing with more residential
purchasers comprising of retiring people from Northern Europe.
Motivating factors for buyers include: climate, quality and cost of living, transport
infrastructure, public safety, communication and IT capability, high quality
healthcare, education and supporting and recreational services e.g. restaurants,
shopping malls, cinema, golf and other sporting activities. Thailand arguably
offers the best value propositions in the region. However, there is need for
significant, further improvement if we are going to maintain this position e.g. in
mass transit networks for Bangkok, availability of broadband, further investment
in specialist healthcare, a critical mass of retirees in key locations to create a
community feeling amongst immigrating elderly populations.
Most critical of all, however, is the ability to safely purchase property. In this last area,
Thailand is lagging behind almost every other Asian country. In Malaysia there are
now no restrictions on foreign purchase of property. In Singapore there are no
restrictions on foreign nationals buying condominiums, and 99-year leases are
available for some landed property. We hope a Thai future government will address
this deficiency but, we are realistic that this does not seem likely in the immediate
future. The potential, however, is obvious. Companies most geared to this trend would
include hospitals, resort-property developers and Airports of Thailand.
Price objective basis & risk
Bangkok Dusit Medical Services (XDPFF)
We reiterate our Buy rating on Bangkok Dusit Medical Services (BGH). Our 12-month
PO of Bt47 per share is based on DCF methodology with a discount rate of 8.40%
and long-term growth rate of 3%. Our PO is also equivalent to 2008E PEG of 0.87x.
Risks to achieving our PO are events that prevent foreign patients coming to
Thailand i.e. SARS, bird flu, and terrorism, economic crisis, and the company not
able to manage costs.
Bumrungrad Hospi (BUHHF)
Our 12-month share price objective (PO) of Bt58.75 is based on Discounted Cash
Flow (DCF) methodology with a discount rate of 8.37% and long-term growth rate
of 3%
Asian Properties (XPPKF)
Our 12-month price objective of Bt7.4/share is based on sum-of-the parts
valuation that values the core operations by the average of 1) 2008E P/E of 14x,
which is a 20% premium to our target market P/E excluding banks; and
2) discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation. We take into account the value of its
holding in Quality Construction (QCON) (14%) and Prebuilt (PREB) (26%).
While 2008E P/E target will focus more on the short-term earnings, its does
not take into account APs high backlog on hand and lower revenue risks AP
has in 2008E-2009E.
Risks and concerns:
Risks to achieving our price objective are higher-than-expected competition
among developers in the condominium market, slower presales than expected,
rising land prices and rising construction cost.
(+) นักลงทุนต่างประเทศซื้อหุ้นไทยประเทศเดียว
ที่มา : Reuters
COUNTRY 22/08/2007 23/08/2007 24/08/2007 27/08/2007 28/08/2007 29/08/2007 ACCUMULATE (USDmn)
Thailand (12.4) 48.8 0.18 10.64 20.01 1.93 69.2
Indonesia (4.4) 35.1 20.57 34.58 (66.50) (6.76) 12.5
Philippines (3.3) (1.8) (0.94) N/A (3.08) (2.35) (11.4)
Taiwan (131.8) 354.9 (181.50) 109.10 (48.80) (310.60) (208.7)
Korea (531.6) (68.2) (246.83) 74.32 (330.93) (748.90) (1,852.2)
Total (683.5) 368.7 (408.5) 228.64 (429.30) (1,066.69) (1,990.6)