[Eng] 2024/8/23 -CSOP Regional Market Report
Market News
【United States】
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that in July, new housing starts in the United States fell by 6.8% month-over-month, with an annualized rate dropping to 1.238 million units. This figure is lower than the market expectation of 1.33 million units and marks the largest decline since March. This contrasts with the revised 1.1% increase from the previous month.
US Jobless Claims, Business Activity Keep Economy On Gradual Cooling Path
U.S. initial jobless claims rose last week but seem to have stabilized near levels consistent with a gradually cooling labor market, potentially setting the stage for the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates next month.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported that in the week ending August 17, initial jobless claims increased by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 232,000. Economists polled by Reuters had previously forecasted 230,000.
【China】
$TENCENT (00700.HK)$ Tencent-Backed ‘Wukong’ Makes Game History in First-Day Rush
" Wukong" an action-adventure game based on the famous mythological novel "Journey to the West," saw its concurrent users on Steam exceed 1.3 million shortly after its global release on Tuesday.
The game's launch has garnered significant attention, partly because, unlike many Tencent-backed blockbusters, it is entirely developed by the local studio Game Science. Tencent has invested in this Hangzhou-based developer and is responsible for the game's domestic distribution on the WeGame platform.
【APAC】
Taiwan's 19 IT Companies See 21.6% Revenue Increase in July, TSMC Hits Record High
The combined revenue of 19 major Taiwanese companies that supply semiconductors and digital products to global IT giants grew by 21.6% in July compared to the same period last year. Revenue from artificial intelligence (AI)-related products saw a significant increase. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), a global semiconductor leader, achieved a record high in monthly revenue.
According to a survey conducted by Nikkei on the revenue of 19 major companies in Taiwan's IT-related sectors, the combined revenue for July totaled 1.4062 trillion New Taiwan Dollars. This marks the fifth consecutive month of growth. Among these companies, 15 reported revenue increases, while 4 saw decreases.
The Bank of Korea kept the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.5%, in line with market expectations; it lowered this year's GDP growth forecast from 2.5% in May to 2.4%, and also lowered the CPI growth forecast to 2.5%.
【Japan】
70% Of Japan Companies Beat Market Profit Forecasts For April-June
Net profit topped the market forecast for 70% of surveyed Japanese companies in the April-June quarter, led by the automobile and artificial intelligence fields, as many of them rode the tailwind of the weak yen.
Nikkei tabulated the results of about 130 listed companies that posted a net profit in April-June and whose earnings were forecast by at least three securities firms. The list excludes financial institutions as well as companies that did not have an in-house forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2025. The QUICK Consensus average analyst forecasts were compared with the companies' results.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan reported on Friday that the country's Consumer Price Index excluding fresh food (core CPI) increased by 2.7% year-on-year in July, in line with market expectations. This marks the 28th consecutive month that the core CPI has remained above the Bank of Japan's 2% target.
【SEA+】
Malaysia's economic growth in the second quarter accelerated to 5.9% year-on-year, surpassing market expectations and marking the fastest growth in 18 months. On a quarterly basis, the growth rate also increased to 2.9%, driven by strong growth in household spending, exports, and investments.
Thailand's National Economic and Social Development Council announced on Monday that the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 2.3% year-on-year in the second quarter ending in June, exceeding the median forecast of 2.2%. In the first quarter, the local economy grew by 1.5% year-on-year.
The Bank of Thailand on the 21st maintained its benchmark interest rate at 2.5%, which is the highest level in over a decade, marking the fifth consecutive time it has held rates steady. This decision was in line with market expectations. Despite some calls for the initiation of an easing policy amid economic recovery uncertainties, the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee voted 6-1 to keep the rate unchanged.
Corporate News
【Japan】
Japanese semiconductor manufacturing equipment company $Disco (6146.JP)$ plans to establish a local subsidiary in India as early as September. This subsidiary will be responsible for sales and technical support services, aiming to assist semiconductor manufacturers setting up factories in India.
$SoftBank Group (9984.JP)$ will join a $130 million Asia fund for AI startups. Additionally, according to a report by the Financial Times citing anonymous sources, SoftBank and Intel had discussions about producing AI chips to compete with Nvidia. However, the plans fell through because Intel could not meet SoftBank's demands for production volume and speed.
Canadian convenience store leader Alimentation Couche-Tard is expected to need prior approval from Japanese authorities to complete a proposed takeover of $Seven & i Holdings (3382.JP)$, given the latter's involvement in potentially sensitive industries, Nikkei has learned.
$Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.JP)$ has revealed that MUFG Bank will invest an additional INR 27,988 million (approximately JPY 49.0 billion) in DMI Finance Private Limited ("DMI Finance"), a prominent digital financial services provider in India.
$Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.JP)$ has sold 24 million shares of American regional bank U.S. Bancorp (USB) on the market, the Japanese company said Tuesday, for an amount expected to reach $1 billion based on the current stock price.
$Toyota Motor (7203.JP)$ plans to introduce large-scale "Gigacast" casting equipment for integrated molding of car body parts at its own factory in Aichi Prefecture as early as 2024. This will be the largest casting equipment of its kind in Japan and is intended for the trial production of components for electric vehicles (EVs).
$Sharp (6753.JP)$ says that the Sakai City plant has stopped producing LCD panels for televisions. With the suspension, the number of production bases for TV LCD panels in Japan has become zero. SoftBank is in talks to invest nearly 100 billion yen (approximately 684 million USD) in Sharp, seeking to acquire part of the Sakai plant to build an artificial intelligence data center, but the feasibility of the deal remains unclear.
【APAC】
Exchange documents show that $Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM.US)$ signed a contract with Innolux on Thursday to purchase its factory and ancillary facilities for an estimated amount of NT 17.77billion (US 531 million). The assets, located in Tainan City, cover an area of 317,444 square meters and will be used for TSMC's operations and production.
Sources indicate that Samsung Electronics (005930.KP) will commence tape-out for its next-generation HBM4 memory by the end of this year, in preparation for the mass production of 12-layer stacked HBM4 products by the end of next year.
Samsung Electronics (005930.KP) plans to build a semiconductor packaging production line in Vietnam, with the exact location yet to be finalized. Reports indicate that Samsung has received various incentives from the Vietnamese government.
According to supply chain sources, both Samsung Electronics (005930.KP) and SK Hynix (000660.KP) have issued notifications indicating that the price of DDR5 will increase by more than 15% in the upcoming quarter.
【China】
The 2024 $BIDU-SW (09888.HK)$ Cloud Intelligence Conference will open on September 25-26. This year's conference is themed "Intelligence·Leap." Baidu Smart Cloud will unveil the latest updates on various cloud and AI products, including infrastructure, large models, development toolchains, and AI-native applications.
$KUAISHOU-W (01024.HK)$ reported a total revenue of 31 billion RMB for the second quarter, representing an 11.6% year-on-year increase. Adjusted net profit grew by 73.7% year-on-year to 4.68 billion RMB. The daily peak consumption of AIGC marketing materials from marketing clients reached 20 million RMB. However, revenue from the live streaming business declined by 6.7% year-on-year to 9.3 billion RMB.
$XPENG-W (09868.HK)$ delivered 30,207 vehicles in the second quarter, marking a 30.2% year-on-year increase. Total revenue reached 8.11 billion RMB, representing a 60.2% year-on-year growth. The net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders was 1.28 billion RMB, compared to a loss of 2.8 billion RMB in the same period last year.
$JD-SW (09618.HK)$ announced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that on August 21, 2024, it repurchased its shares at a cost of approximately 390 million. This repurchase fully utilized the repurchase limit of the 3 billion stock buyback plan approved in March 2024.
The latest financial report from $XIAOMI-W (01810.HK)$ shows that the company achieved revenue of RMB 164.395 billion in the first half of 2024, representing a year-on-year growth of 29.6%. The adjusted net profit was RMB 12.666 billion, marking a year-on-year increase of 51.3%.
$BABA-SWR (89988.HK)$ announced that the voluntary conversion of its secondary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to a primary listing will take effect on August 28.
Search engine giant $BIDU-SW (09888.HK)$ announced that in the second quarter, adjusted (Non-GAAP) net profit was 7.4 billion RMB, a year-on-year decrease of 8%, but better than market expectations; during the reporting period, the intelligent cloud business grew, while online marketing revenue continued to face macroeconomic headwinds and declined year-on-year.
Chinese internet giant NetEase (9999.HK) announced that second-quarter adjusted (Non-GAAP) net profit declined both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter, falling short of market expectations. Despite this, revenue from games and related value-added services increased by nearly 7% year-on-year, and the gross profit margin also rose.
According to informed sources, Indian IT company $Infosys (INFY.US)$, as a support partner for the cloud migration agreement signed by Coca-Cola and Microsoft in April, is likely to generate more than $100 million in revenue from this partnership.
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