Emerging Market Links + The Week Ahead (September 7-11, 2026)

When I was growing up in the 1980-90s in a blue collar/middle to upper middle class farming community, Nike was such a force that a (white) kid on my road wanted a pair of Nike Air Jordan (or whatever) shoes for $175+, a bit of a stretch for his single mother (who I think made him pay for most of it), because of Michael Jordan, Larry Byrd, etc.

Fast forward to today where Nike’s stock has lost so much value that they are being removed from the S&P 100 as, I guess, ads like this just aren’t selling shoes like Michael Jordan et al were able to do when I was a kid:

NOBUNAGA🇯🇵🏯_夏樹蒼依@japan_nobunaga

This is a genuine question, with no prejudice intended.

There are very few Black people in Japan, so I honestly have no frame of reference for this.

When Black people see an ad like this, do they actually think,

“Wow! Those Nike shoes look insanely cool. I’d pay $1,000 for …

3:45 PM · Sep 6, 2026 · 1.66M Views

1.68K Replies · 509 Reposts · 12.9K Likes

Tim@TimMart0909

@japan_nobunaga There is no actual logical explanation for the campaign, just that these are the people whose judgment thought it was a good idea.

2:34 PM · Sep 7, 2026 · 49 Views

However, Nike’s troubles though did not begin recently with the recent woke craze that swept Corporate America…

About two decades ago when I worked in headhunting in the Philippines, Nike was a client of my boss and needed to fill a local sports marketing head type role for the country. I was not directly involved in the search; but I will never forget the regional HR head kept rejecting candidates and at one point asking in an email: “Where’s my diversity?”

While I belonged to a local mountaineering club, did some underwater hockey/sailing and regularly participated in running events (up to 10k) where there were many women participants, the number of local female candidates with the right background and who also might want to work for Nike (and whatever they paid – Western companies/brand names are or were often notorious for getting away with paying less…) could probably be counted on both hands with fingers left over (this is often the reality of for niche or executive level searches in emerging/frontier markets). So I don’t recall IF the HR director ever got his diversity or whether he or we ever filled the role (but clearly he was probably under pressure from HQ to hire “diversity” – even for the Philippines…)…

One More Note: I always found the Nike slogan (“Believe in something… even if it means sacrificing everything”) for and whatever was going on with Colin Kaepernick to be a little odd. When his wealthy white adopted father was a big shot executive at Hilmar Cheese (the family moved from WI to the Central Valley of CA for the job), Colin would babysit the kids of a family friend’s boss. When Colin’s parents retired, I am fairly certain they moved to an exclusive partially gated golf course community a few miles from where I grew up where the numerous new homes have gotten exponentially larger & more luxurious since I was a kid (new CA homes typically don’t have cellars or basements for adult kids to live in, but I am sure there is plenty of room for him to live in the rest of the house if he needed to return home…)

Nike is also in trouble because China alone has a number of sporting goods companies rapidly expanding abroad e.g. just from our China, Hong Kong & Macau Stock Index: 361 Degrees International Limited (HKG: 1361 / FRA: 36L / OTCMKTS: TSIOF), ANTA Sports Products (HKG: 2020 / FRA: AS7 / OTCMKTS: ANPDY / OTCMKTS: ANPDF) (owns Amer Sports, Fila and Descente), Topsports (HKG: 6110 / OTCMKTS: TPSRF) and Xtep (HKG: 1368 / FRA: 4QI / OTCMKTS: XTEPY / XTPEF), Li Ning (HKG: 2331 / FRA: LNLB / LNL / OTCMKTS: LNNGY / LNNGF) plus FT has a recent profile of Kailas Fuga (The Chinese brand that wants to lead Europe’s trail-running pack 🗃️), etc.

Asian Century Stocks also has a recent profile of Japan based Mizuno Corp (TYO: 8022 / FRA: MIZ / OTCMKTS: MIZUF) (see Mizuno (8022 JP) $) plus there are other athletic shoe or sporting goods makers not familiar to Westerner investors or consumers (e.g. Brazil’s Vulcabras SA (BVMF: VULC3)) grabbing market share.

What do these non-American/non-Western sporting goods stocks have in common? I doubt any of them have HRDs asking their head hunters “Where’s my diversity?” and they are certainly not running the types of polarizing ad or endorsement campaigns that Nike has been running in recent years…

$ = behind a paywall

[This week, I need to add a number of stocks from over the past month to our Frontier & Emerging Market Stock Index]

$ = Behind a paywall / 🗃️ = Link to an archived article (Note: Seeking Alpha earnings/conference etc. presentations are typically not paywalled) / ⛔ = Article archiving may not be working properly

🇯🇵 Mizuno (8022 JP) (Asian Century Stocks) $

• Japanese sportswear brand at 16x P/E

• Over the past decade, the Japanese sportswear brand Mizuno Corp (TYO: 8022 / FRA: MIZ / OTCMKTS: MIZUF) (8022 JP – US$1.9 billion) has compounded at a 16.5% annual rate:

• But it still begs the question: why? And what does the future look like? I’ve been working with recent graduate Meera Kapoor to understand the company from the inside out. This is what she’s concluded.

• Mizuno is a major global sportswear brand. Most consumers associate Mizuno with golf equipment. But it also has strength in baseball and football, especially within Japan, where 61% of its revenue comes from.

🇨🇳 Beijing Scraps Longstanding Tax Break for Foreign Investors’ Dividends (Caixin) $

• China has formally ended a decades-old tax exemption that spared foreign individuals from personal income tax on dividends and bonuses paid by foreign-invested enterprises.

• Effective Tuesday, such income will be subject to a standard 20% tax rate, bringing it in line with the treatment of other dividend and interest income under China’s personal income tax law, according to a joint announcement from the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration.

🇨🇳 China Closes Tax Loopholes on Insider Stock Sales (Caixin) $

• China has tightened tax rules on the sale of restricted shares, closing loopholes that allowed corporate insiders to underpay a 20% personal income tax on capital gains.

• Effective Aug. 28, the tax now applies to bonus shares issued after a lockup period expires, according to a joint policy by the finance ministry, the taxation administration and the securities regulator.

🇨🇳 China Mutual Fund Firms Post Profit Surge as Giants Consolidate Power (Caixin) $

• China’s mutual fund industry experienced a profit surge in the first half of the year, according to Caixin calculations based on public data.

• The 24 mutual fund companies that had reported earnings as of Tuesday posted a combined net profit of 8.9 billion yuan ($1.3 billion), up 47.4% year-on-year.

• Beneath the broad improvement lies a highly polarized sector. The industry’s four most profitable players accounted for more than half of that total. China Southern Asset Management Co. Ltd. led with 1.5 billion yuan in net profit.

🇨🇳 Analysis: Why China Is Rewriting Its Stock Market Refinancing Rules (Caixin) $

• China’s securities regulator has proposed a major overhaul of the refinancing system, with draft rules that target a type of private placement arbitrage that has allowed select investors to buy shares at steep discounts while minority shareholders bear the dilution.

• The move comes amid a sharp rebound in fundraising. After collapsing to 223 billion yuan ($31.3 billion) in 2024, the Chinese mainland stock market’s refinancing more than quadrupled to 951 billion yuan last year. Citic Securities Co. Ltd. expects the figure to exceed 1 trillion yuan this year.

🇨🇳 ByteDance Consolidates AI Office Tools Around Doubao (Caixin) $

• ByteDance Ltd. is consolidating its workplace AI tools under Doubao as China’s biggest internet companies intensify competition to make AI agents the new gateway for office work.

• The company on Tuesday launched Doubao Work, an AI productivity product that combines workplace agents with ByteDance’s Feishu collaboration platform. The move is intended to better coordinate product and technical resources, while preserving existing users’ rights and services, ByteDance told Caixin in a statement.

• The launch follows a series of organizational changes that have elevated Doubao as ByteDance’s central AI product. In July, ByteDance split the Feishu team, merging its product operations with Doubao while folding Feishu’s enterprise sales operations into Volcano Engine.

🇨🇳 Alibaba – Funding the Frontier (TacticzHazel’s Substack)

• Why Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) is accepting dilution to accelerate AI, and what the fundamentals say about the trade-off.

• Occasionally, a story comes across your desk where the market reaction and the underlying economics seem to be telling two different stories.

• Alibaba’s (BABA US, 9988 HK) $10.2 billion (HK$80 billion) share sale, Hong Kong’s biggest follow-on offering on record, is one of them.

• Markets have immediately focused on dilution. Shares fell around 8% after the announcement, and criticism followed. Even Michael Burry, a now-native writer on Substack, announced that he had moved his entire Alibaba position in favor of JD.com (NASDAQ: JD / SGX: HJDD), and said he would not be interested in Alibaba unless the share price were half what it is now. While Burry stated that he “cannot bless share issuance”, we contrastingly see this action as positive for Alibaba’s pursuit in the AI race and believe the investment, after some short-term pain, will be rewarded.

🇨🇳 Meituan: Q2 ‘26 Beat On Temporary Truce; Structural Headwinds Warrant Staying On The Sidelines (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

• 🇨🇳 Meituan (HKG: 3690 / 83690 / SGX: HMTD / FRA: 9MD / OTCMKTS: MPNGF / MPNGY) 🇰🇾 – Chinese shopping platform for locally found consumer products & retail services including entertainment, dining, delivery, travel etc. 🇼 🏷️

🇨🇳 PDD Shares Rise After Earnings Beat, Despite Slower Growth at Temu (Caixin) $

• PDD Holdings (NASDAQ: PDD) or Pinduoduo reported second-quarter profit above market expectations on Monday, lifting its shares even as revenue missed forecasts amid slower international growth.

• The Chinese e-commerce company posted revenue of 112.4 billion yuan ($16.7 billion) for the quarter ended June 30, up 8% from a year earlier but below the 115.2-billion-yuan average analyst estimate. Non-GAAP net income attributable to ordinary shareholders fell 13% to 28.5 billion yuan, slightly ahead of the 28-billion-yuan consensus.

🇨🇳 Pinduoduo ($PDD) Is Dying. Long Live the New Pinduoduo! (Johnny’s bearish Investing)

• PDD Holdings (NASDAQ: PDD) or Pinduoduo is adapting its business model. Will it manage to remain highly profitable by expanding its narrow moat, or is it without moat and destined to decline?

• Q2 2026 Highlights: Lower Focus on Advertising, Temu’s Meltdown in Europe, Duoduo Grocery Growth, and Other Losses

🇨🇳 How Shein’s IPO lost its shine (FT) $ 🗃️

🇨🇳 Shein Seeks Up to $1.8 Billion in Hong Kong IPO at $27 Billion Valuation (Caixin) $

• Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein launched its Hong Kong initial public offering on Monday, seeking to raise as much as HK$13.9 billion ($1.8 billion) at a valuation of about $27 billion.

• The target valuation marks a steep drop from the company’s private-market peak, highlighting the pressures facing the e-commerce group as revenue growth slows and the removal of import-tax exemptions in key Western markets threatens its low-cost business model.

🇨🇳 China’s actors written out of dramas as AI doubles ready to take their roles (FT) $ 🗃️

🇨🇳 Kuaishou Technology: The Future Of E-Com With 3x Upside (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇨🇳 Hello Group courts big spenders abroad as Chinese daters economize (Bamboo Works)

• The social-app operator is boosting its paid user base at home, but weaker spending and setbacks overseas are prolonging its long-awaited turnaround

• Hello Group (NASDAQ: MOMO)’s revenue fell 5.1% in the second quarter of 2026, and management now expects a steeper full-year decline than previously anticipated

• The dating app operator’s overseas quarterly revenue grew 52%, but setbacks at its SoulChill app are likely to leave the business short of its annual target

🇨🇳 Aequitas: Bilibili Placement – CB, Placement, Repurchase – Confused? (Smartkarma) $

• Tencent (HKG: 0700 / LON: 0LEA / FRA: NNND / SGX: HTCD / OTCMKTS: TCEHY) aims to raise around US$400m via selling some of its stake in Bilibili (NASDAQ: BILI) in HK.

• At the same time, the company will issue CB, along with a delta placement, and buyback some shares.

• In this note, we will talk about the placement and run the deal through our ECM framework.

🇨🇳 Mech-Mind (梅卡曼德) IPO Trading (Smartkarma) $

• Mech-Mind Robotics (HKG: 9615) raised HKD 2,200.2m (USD 280.6m) in net proceeds from its global offering and will list on the HKEX on Tuesday, 1 September 2026.

• In our previous notes, we looked at the company’s fundamentals, deal terms and peer valuation.

• In this note, we provide an update for the IPO before its trading debut.

🇨🇳 CiDi (3881 HK) Company Meeting: A Leading Physical AI Player (Smartkarma) $

• We spoke to the management of CiDi Inc (HKG: 3881), a leading China-based physical player.

• Revenue and gross profit both accelerated sharply in 1H2026, extending several years of triple-digit growth, with management citing an approaching first adjusted-breakeven period.

• Domestic demand is policy-driven while overseas market is still in early stage of development.

🇨🇳 Chart of the Day: China’s AI Chipmakers Are Turning Self-Reliance Into Sales (Caixin) $

• China’s push to build a self-reliant AI hardware ecosystem is turning into hard results for corporate bottom lines.

• First-half earnings reports from the country’s three leading graphics processing unit (GPU) developers reveal a sector increasingly transitioning from a state-subsidized promise to a business success. Driven by rapid enterprise AI deployment and U.S. export controls on advanced chips, the trio each posted encouraging results that put them on a course toward sustained profitability.

• Cambricon Technologies Corp (SHA: 688256) was a standout in the first half of this year, when it reported profit growth that outpaced revenue growth for the first time — a critical milestone proving its ability to offset heavy R&D overhead with high sales.

🇨🇳 Chart of the Day: Rising Revenues Mask Profit Hurdles for China’s GPU Quartet (Caixin) $

🇨🇳 Chinese Memory-Chipmaker YMTC Parent Files for $4.9 Billion IPO (Caixin) $

• The parent of Yangtze Memory Technologies Co Ltd (YMTC), China’s leading NAND flash-memory maker, is seeking to raise 33 billion yuan ($4.9 billion) in a Shanghai listing, setting up another major chip IPO after rival Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT) (SHA: 688825)’s blockbuster debut.

• The Shanghai Stock Exchange accepted CCSH Corp.’s STAR Market application, according to a notice on Friday. The company plans to sell 1.98 billion to 2.43 billion shares, or 10% to 12% of its enlarged share capital, according to its prospectus, implying a post-IPO valuation of as much as 330 billion yuan.

🇨🇳 Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC) IPO Preview (Douglas Research Insights)

• Yangtze Memory Technologies Co Ltd (YMTC) is getting ready to complete its IPO on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in late 2026/early 2027, aiming to raise about $4.9 billion.

• Implied valuation of YMTC is up to 330 billion yuan. However, there have been reports about implied valuation of YMTC closer to the 1 trillion yuan ($149 billion).

• Based on Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT) (SHA: 688825)’s P/S of 19.6x and using YMTC’s estimated annual sales of 188.2 billion yuan in 2026, this suggests market cap of 3.7 trillion yuan ($548 billion) for YMTC.

🇨🇳 MiniMax’s Revenue Jumps 280% as Business Customers Drive Growth (Caixin) $

• MiniMax Group (HKG: 0100 / FRA: E5A)’s revenue nearly quadrupled in the first half as demand for its AI services surged, but losses remained heavy as the Chinese model developer stepped up spending on research and computing.

• The Hong Kong-listed company reported revenue of $116.6 million for the six months ended June, up 283% from a year earlier and already above its full-year 2025 revenue of $79 million. Its loss attributable to shareholders narrowed 11% to about $358 million.

• Adjusted net loss, however, more than doubled to $293 million as MiniMax continued to invest heavily in model development and infrastructure. Research-and-development expenses rose 139% to $297 million.

🇨🇳 MINIMAX-W: Second Lock-Up Expiry and Convertible Bond Conversion Analysis (Smartkarma) $

• We lay out MiniMax Group (HKG: 0100 / FRA: E5A)’s September liquidity events, from today’s Undertaking (b) unlock through the 21 Sep bond conversion window.

• We review the stock’s post-Connect inclusion trading, including southbound buying, short interest, consensus revisions.

• We assess the overhang associated with the lock up events.

🇨🇳 China’s Industrial Profits Surge as AI Boom Masks Weak Demand (Caixin) $

🇨🇳 Analysis: Unitree Shares Slide as Investors Reassess Humanoid Robot Valuations (Caixin) $

• Shares of Unitree Robotics [Yushu Technology Co Ltd (SHA: 688836)] have plunged 44% from their peak in the week following the company’s blockbuster initial public offering, exposing the clash between market hype and the commercial reality of China’s humanoid robot sector.

• The stock closed at 615.03 yuan ($91.5) on Thursday, down from an intraday high of 1,100 yuan shortly after its debut. Despite the sharp correction, the company remains valued at roughly 248.8 billion yuan — more than four times its 150.8 yuan issue price.

🇨🇳 Montage (6809 HK): 2Q26, Financials Up with Capacities, No Concern About Korea Probe (Smartkarma) $

[Montage Technology Co Ltd (SHA: 688008 / HKG: 6809 / FRA: K4A)]

• In 2Q26, Revenue growth accelerated due to the start of Shanghai testing center and TSMC contract.

• We believe the packaging and testing in Singapore will raise revenue in 2027.

• However, we consider the gross margins in the first two quarters to be unrepresentative.

🇨🇳 Overseas Growth Lifts China’s Top Machinery Makers, but FX Losses Hit Profit (Caixin) $

• China’s three largest construction-machinery makers posted solid revenue growth in the first half of 2026, driven by strong overseas sales, but steep foreign-exchange losses eroded profitability.

• The results underscore how currency swings are becoming a bigger factor for Chinese heavy-equipment manufacturers as they grow more dependent on international markets amid robust demand from mining and infrastructure projects abroad.

🇨🇳 EHang Scraps Revenue Target in Wake of Fatal Aircraft Crash (Caixin) $

• Chinese flying-car maker EHang Holdings (NASDAQ: EH) has withdrawn its annual revenue target as tighter regulations following a fatal aircraft crash in Beijing have delayed the commercial launch of its passenger-carrying operations.

• The pullback highlights the regulatory uncertainties facing the nascent electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) industry in China, where a recent safety incident has prompted authorities to take a more cautious approach to low-altitude flights.

🇨🇳 Weak Dollar Saps Chinese Automakers’ Profits Despite Surging Overseas Sales (Caixin) $

• Chinese automakers are selling more vehicles abroad to offset a deepening domestic slowdown, but a weakening U.S. dollar is making those overseas gains less profitable when converted back into yuan.

• Domestic auto sales tumbled 21.1% year-on-year in the first six months of 2026, while exports surged 65.3%, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Overseas markets have become the industry’s most important stabilizer, Chongqing Changan Automobile (SHE: 000625 / 200625) said in its interim report.

🇨🇳 Regulators Call Out BYD, Geely Over Production Flaws (Caixin) $

• China’s industry regulator has called out leading domestic automakers Geely Automobile Holdings (HKG: 0175 / FRA: GRU / OTCMKTS: GELYY / GELYF) and BYD Company (SHE: 002594 / HKG: 1211 / SGX: HYDD / OTCMKTS: BYDDY / BYDDF) for failing to meet production standards in two of their most popular electrified models.

• The regulatory action highlights Beijing’s escalating crackdown on excessive competition in the domestic auto market, where a brutal price war has sparked widespread industry criticism that manufacturers are cutting corners and compromising safety to keep costs down.

🇨🇳 NIO: Shrinking Losses, Industry-Leading Margins And An Undervalued Price Tag (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇨🇳 NIO: Buy The Margin Turnaround, But Keep Expectations Real (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇨🇳 NIO: Value Trap Risks Meet Robust Profitable Growth Prospects (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇨🇳 NIO Q2: Disappointment Increases (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇨🇳 NIO Q2: The Case Is Getting Stronger (Upgrade) (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇨🇳 Li Auto: Solid Q2 Margin Recovery Indicates Turnaround Potential (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

• 🌐 Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) 🇰🇾 – Designs, develops, manufactures & sells premium smart electric vehicles. 🇼 🏷️

🇨🇳 Leapmotor Slashes 2026 Profit Target Despite Sales Surge (Caixin) $

• Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co Ltd (HKG: 9863) slashed its full-year profit target by 40% even as first-half net profit surged, underscoring the intense pressure in the world’s largest auto market.

• The Hong Kong-listed company’s net profit for the first six months of 2026 soared 600% year over year to 210 million yuan ($31.2 million), while revenue grew 57.2% to 38.1 billion yuan, according to its earnings report released Monday. Deliveries jumped 60.8% to 356,000 vehicles.

🇨🇳 BYD profits rise for first time in five quarters on export boost (FT) $ 🗃️

[BYD Company (SHE: 002594 / HKG: 1211 / SGX: HYDD / OTCMKTS: BYDDY / BYDDF)]

🇨🇳 Budget air con giant catches chill from tepid home economy, Middle East war (Bamboo Works)

• Aux Electric Co Ltd (HKG: 2580) blamed its 13% revenue decline in the first half of 2026 on the Iran war, yuan appreciation and rising copper costs

• Aux reported its revenue fell 13% in the first half of 2026, while its profit tumbled by 41%, as it blamed weak demand in China and the Iran war

• The budget air conditioner maker’s exports to Europe fell by 33.1% in the six-month period, even as most of its peers recorded strong gains in the market

🇨🇳 Haier Smart Home (6690 HK): No Fireworks for Now; Searching for Growth Everywhere (Smartkarma) $

• No Fireworks: In this insight we discuss about Haier Smart Home (SHA: 600690 / HKG: 6690 / OTCMKTS: HSHCY / OTCMKTS: HRSHF)‘s H1 FY2026 financial performance and why there were no fireworks.

• Searching for Growth Everywhere : Given the weak demand in its domestic market, the company is searching for growth in every geography globally.

• Finally, we discuss and conclude our view on H2FY2026 performance of the company.

🇨🇳 Yatsen Holding Limited 2026 Q2 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

🇨🇳 So-Young finds beauty in growing economies of scale (Bamboo Works)

• The company’s revenue rose 33% in the second quarter, as aesthetic treatment services from its growing chain of self-operated clinics jumped 130%

• So-Young International Inc (NASDAQ: SY)’s revenue rose 33% in the second quarter, as its chain of cosmetic treatment clinics recorded triple-digit growth

• The company’s clinic network more than doubled year-on-year to 65 facilities at the end of June, as gross margin for that business improved by 3.8 percentage points

🇨🇳 Modern Dairy squeezes profits from tough milk market (Bamboo Works)

• The company swung to the black in the first half of the year by banking on rebounding cattle prices and lower costs, even as milk prices remained stuck in the doldrums

• China Modern Dairy Holdings Ltd (HKG: 1117 / FRA: 07M / OTCMKTS: CMDKF) turned a profit in the first half of 2026, though the average selling price for its raw milk still slipped 2.4%

• The company completed its acquisition of China Shengmu during the period, securing a scarce source of desert-based organic milk

🇨🇳 China’s Big Three Airlines Sink Deeper Into Losses as Fuel Costs Surge (Caixin) $

• China’s three largest state-owned airlines reported widening first-half net losses totaling 8.16 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) as surging jet fuel prices wiped out revenue gains from increased passenger traffic.

• Air China (SHA: 601111 / HKG: 0753 / FRA: AD2 / LON: AIRC / OTCMKTS: AIRYY), China Eastern Airlines Corp (SHA: 600115 / HKG: 0670 / FRA: CIAH / OTCMKTS: CHEAF / CHNEY) and China Southern Airlines Co. Ltd. (SHA: 600029 / HKG: 1055 / FRA: ZNHH / OTCMKTS: CHKIF) all posted revenue growth of about 10% for the first six months of 2026, yet their financial deficits deepened. China Southern, the country’s largest carrier by fleet size, recorded the steepest net loss at 3.7 billion yuan.

🇨🇳 Bleeding cash and mired in debt, Haichang teeters on the brink of collapse (Bamboo Works)

• The struggling marine theme park operator’s revenue slid in the first half of the year and its loss widened, as its massive debt load continued to swell

• Haichang Ocean Park Holdings Ltd (HKG: 2255 / OTCMKTS: HCGOF) reported its revenue tumbled over 20% year-over-year in the first half of 2026

• The marine theme park operator’s short- and long-term interest-bearing debt neared 5.5 billion yuan at the end of June

🇨🇳 In Depth: Frenzied Land Bidding Returns to China’s Prime Cities, but Has the Market Hit Bottom? (Caixin) $

• On July 28, four state-backed developers and consortiums waged a bruising 200-round bidding contest for a prime residential parcel on Shanghai’s Yangpu district riverfront. A consortium led by Poly Developments and Holdings Group Co. Ltd. and China Resources Land Ltd. ultimately prevailed, paying 16.1 billion yuan ($2.4 billion) and setting local records with a price of 102,000 yuan per square meter.

🇨🇳 With looming debt pressures, Agile faces tough road to restructuring (Bamboo Works)

• Latest earnings figures show the real estate conglomerate remains mired in a liquidity crisis, while facing a court test and an impending payment crunch

• At end of June, Agile Group Holdings Ltd (HKG: 3383 / FRA: A8P / OTCMKTS: AGPYF / AGPYY) had nearly $6.25 billion in borrowings due within one year

• The value of Agile’s property pre-sales fell by more than a quarter in the first half, while its net loss widened by 10%

🇨🇳 Real Estate Brokerage KE’s Profit Balloons Despite Falling Revenue (Caixin) $

• Chinese real estate brokerage KE Holdings (NYSE: BEKE) reported a 79% year-on-year jump in first-half net profit despite falling revenue, driven by aggressive cost-cutting and a strategic shift toward boosting agent efficiency in a sluggish property market.

• The financial results underscore how China’s dominant housing broker is adapting to a fundamentally changed property sector, where growth now relies on squeezing higher margins from its existing workforce rather than relentlessly expanding its physical footprint.

🇨🇳 China Throws Insurers Lifeline as Falling Rates Squeeze Returns (Caixin) $

• China has relaxed a key investment rule for insurance companies to ease their compliance burden, as a prolonged drop in interest rates threatens their ability to cover future payouts.

• The financial regulator dropped a draft mandate requiring insurers to closely match the lifespans of their investments with their liabilities. Instead, final rules issued last week adopt a more flexible “hedging ratio” to measure how well firms are buffered against rate fluctuations.

🇨🇳 China Taiping Insurance Holdings Company Limited 2026 Q2 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

🇨🇳 Yeahka Limited 2026 Q2 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

🇨🇳 Huatai Securities Co., Ltd. 2026 Q2 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

🇨🇳 FinVolution Group 2026 Q2 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

🇨🇳 LexinFintech: Cheap And Well-Capitalized, But The Operational Trough Is Still Ahead (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇨🇳 Lufax: Shifting To A Distressed Asset Workout At A $1.55 Breakeven (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇨🇳 Yankuang Energy Group Company Limited 2026 Q2 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

🇨🇳 PetroChina Company Limited 2026 Q2 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

🇨🇳 JinkoSolar: Things Could Be Better From Here, But The Market Hasn’t Priced It In (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇨🇳 InnoCare Pharma Limited 2026 Q2 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

🇨🇳 Bulging order book for bioconjugates lifts WuXi XDC profits (Bamboo Works)

• The provider of outsourced pharmaceutical services has delivered unexpectedly strong half-year earnings and has launched its first overseas production hub

• WuXi XDC Cayman (HKG: 2268 / FRA: L74) began operations in August at a site in Singapore, boosting its biologics manufacturing capacity beyond China

• After the earnings stoked a share price rally, another company in the WuXi group sold part of its stake in WuXi XDC, unsettling investors

🇨🇳 HUTCHMED (China) Limited (HCM) Discusses Strategic Partnership With GSK and Licensing of Oncology Asset A830 – Slideshow (Seeking Alpha)

• 🌐 Hutchmed (NASDAQ: HCM) 🇰🇾 – Commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company. Global development of targeted therapies & immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer & immunological diseases. CK Hutchison Holdings (HKG: 0001 / FRA: 2CKA / OTCMKTS: CKHUY / CKHUF) controlled.🏷️

🇨🇳 Ligent (纳真科技) Pre-IPO: Tearsheet (Smartkarma) $

• Ligent Technologies, a Hisense Home Appliances Group (SHE: 000921 / SHA: 600060 / HKG: 0921)-controlled optical transceiver and optical network terminal maker, has passed the HKEX listing hearing and is seeking a Main Board listing. Citi and CITIC are the joint sponsors.

• We look at the company’s core segments: optical transceivers and optical network terminals.

• We then look at the company’s financial profile, profit rebound, pre-IPO valuation and investor backing.

🇨🇳 Ligent Technologies IPO: The Investment Case (Smartkarma) $

• Ligent Technologies (LGT HK) is an optical communication and connectivity products provider. It is seeking to raise US$800 million.

• In 2025, among all specialised optical transceiver manufacturers globally, Ligent ranked 5th in global optical transceiver revenue, with a market share of 4.0%.

• The investment case is bullish as Ligent is a business executing well (share gains, strong growth, improving margins) in an industry benefiting from a structural growth theme.

🇨🇳 Ligent (纳真科技) Pre-IPO: Peer Comparison (Smartkarma) $

• Ligent Technologies, a Hisense Home Appliances Group (SHE: 000921 / SHA: 600060 / HKG: 0921)-controlled optical transceiver and optical network terminal maker, has passed the HKEX listing hearing and is seeking a Main Board listing. Citi and CITIC are the joint sponsors.

• Our prior note covered the company’s business, financials and pre-IPO investor backing.

• This note compares Ligent with listed peers from a financial, operating and valuation perspective.

🇭🇰 🇨🇳 Liquidators can pursue PwC globally over Chinese property giant’s collapse, court rules (FT) $ 🗃️

🇭🇰 US treasury volatility may threaten Hong Kong liquidity (The Asset)

🇭🇰 AIOS Tech: The AI Story Is Ahead Of The Business (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

• 🌐 AIOS Tech Inc (NASDAQ: AIOS) – AI & digital transformation services, customized IT solutions for the financial sector, enterprise data solutions, etc.

🇭🇰 WH Group Limited 2026 Q2 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

🇭🇰 Changhong Jiahua (3991 HK)’s Busted Deal (Hong Kong/China M&A/Events) $

• For those who came in late, I expected ENN Energy Holdings (HKG: 2688 / FRA: XGH / XGH0 / OTCMKTS: XNGSY / XNGSF)‘s Offer to get up. I was wrong. For all intent and purpose, I’m also wrong on Changhong Jiahua Holdings Ltd (HKG: 3991).

• Changhong is trading 50% below terms and 34% below the undisturbed price of HK$0.92/share. A peer basket is down 5% (the median) since the Offer was announced last September.

• 1H26 financials were solid. Changhong has added net cash of $1.4bn since the Offer was announced. If small, illiquid stocks are your bag, Changhong’s share price is unduly beaten up.

• Changhong Jiahua Holdings is super illiquid – look away now if this is not your bag.

🇭🇰 Con Aero Tech (232 HK): 21st Sept SGM. “Surplus Cash” Into Focus (Hong Kong/China M&A/Events) $

• On the 5th June, Continental Aerospace Technologies Holding Limited (HKG: 0232 / FRA: CTQ0) (CAT) confirmed an SPA to sell its core business, potentially leading to a cash distribution (HK$0.419-HK$0.436/share), and subsequent winding up.

• The SPA requires reg approvals and a Scheme-like vote. 46.4% of the register is supportive. Additional dividends expected from the sale of property. And any leftover funds.

• The Circular is now out. The SGM is the 21st September. With payment of the special/property dividend (on or before) the 12th October. “Surplus cash” distribution is expected shortly thereafter.

🇭🇰 StubWorld: Swire Accelerates Cathay Exchange. “As” At Multi-Decade Premium To “Bs” (Hong Kong/China M&A/Events)

• Via an accelerated exchange, Swire Pacific (HKG: 0019 / 0087 / OTCMKTS: SWRAY / SWRAF) is soliciting tenders from its 2027 exchangeable bond holders and, in parallel, placing Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd (HKG: 0293 / FRA: CTY / CTYA / OTCMKTS: CPCAY / CPCAF) shares to fund the bond repurchase.

• Preceding my comments on Swire, are the current setup/unwind tables for Asia-Pacific Holdcos.

• These relationships trade with a minimum liquidity of US$1mn, and a % market capitalisation >20%.

🇭🇰 The Government’s Garbage Man Trades for 3.9x Earnings (Tailwind Holdings)

• 0.78x tangible book, 23% ROIC, a 7.5% dividend

• Founded in 1980 Baguio Green Group Ltd (HKEX: 1397) is Hong Kong’s largest cleaning, waste management, landscaping and pest control contractor. They operate a fleet of trucks, recycling stations, landscaping crews, pest technicians and roughly 8,000 employees whose job is keeping hospitals, universities, airports and the Hong Kong streets clean.

• Baguio clients are the Hong Kong Housing Authority, the Hospital Authority, the Jockey Club, Hong Kong International Airport, and 33 government sports venues. Regarding the revenue breakdown the chart is below.

🇭🇰 Lotus (6063 HK) Is A Bubble Stock. Expect An Unconditional Takeunder (Hong Kong/China M&A/Events)

• Construction subcontractor Lotus Horizon Holdings Ltd (HKG: 6063) is suspended pursuant to the Hong Kong Code on Takeovers and Mergers.

• I expect Lotus will follow in WK Group (Holdings) Ltd (HKG: 2535) and Superland Group Holdings Ltd (HKG: 0368)‘s footsteps, whereby the controlling family exits, triggering an unconditional takeunder.

• Loss-Making Lotus is a total bubble stock, up 457% since Feb , 750%+ in 12 months, and trading at 20x P/B. Are shell companies and reverse takeovers making a comeback?

🇲🇴 Macau casino ops face broader scrutiny under city’s Five-Year Plan: lawyer (GGRAsia)

• Macau’s six casino concessionaires face increasingly broad regulatory scrutiny under the city’s Third Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development (2026–2030), with their performance likely to be assessed beyond traditional gaming-related metrics, according to a legal analysis by Pedro Cortés of Macau law firm Lektou.

• The plan places gaming within the city’s wider “integrated tourism and leisure” sector, rather than treating it as a standalone economic pillar, the lawyer noted.

• Mr Cortés stated: “This framing has tangible regulatory consequences. Concessionaires can expect that government assessments of their performance will increasingly measure contributions to the broader tourism and leisure proposition – not merely gross gaming revenue.”

• His paper [Rolling the Dice on Diversification: The Gaming Industry Under Macau’s Third Five-Year Socioeconomic Development Plan (2026-2030)] was published in Lexology, a website of United Kingdom-based Law Business Research.

🇲🇴 Macau casino GGR tipped for September rebound after soft August: analysts (GGRAsia)

• Macau’s casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) is expected to return to year-on-year growth in September, helped by an easier comparison with the prior-year period, according to separate forecasts from JP Morgan Securities and Seaport Research Partners.

• JP Morgan expects September GGR of MOP19.64 billion (US$2.43 billion), up circa 7 percent year-on-year and equivalent to 89 percent of the September 2019 level. Seaport is more bullish, forecasting approximately MOP20.12 billion, representing 10-percent growth from a year earlier.

🇲🇴 Macau casino promotional spend to remain elevated in 2H: CBRE (GGRAsia)

• Promotional spending by Macau casino operators is likely to remain elevated in the second half of 2026 amid intense competition for higher-spending customers, says CBRE Equity Research.

• The Macau market “competitive environment remains intense, particularly for higher-spending premium customers,” wrote analysts John DeCree and Max Marsh in a report issued on Wednesday.

🇲🇴 SJM Holdings 1H loss widens 62pct, adjusted EBITDA up 3pct (GGRAsia)

• Macau casino operator SJM Holdings (HKG: 0880 / FRA: 3MG1 / KRX: 025530 / OTCMKTS: SJMHF / SJMHY) reported a loss attributable to its owners of HKD294.7 million (US$37.6 million) for the first half of 2026, widening by 61.7 percent from a year earlier. The company did not declare an interim dividend.

• First-half adjusted EBITDA margin improved by 3.5 percentage points from the prior-year period, to 14.7 percent.

• “This margin improvement was particularly noteworthy against a broader Macau operating environment characterised by cost inflation and elevated reinvestment levels, which continued to exert pressure on industry profitability,” the company stated in press release issued at the time of the results.

• The margin gain “reflected the continued improvement in the group’s operational efficiency,” added the statement.

• Both Moody’s Ratings and Fitch Ratings downgraded SJM Holdings’ credit ratings in May, citing concerns about the casino operator’s elevated leverage and pace of earnings recovery.

🇲🇴 SJM 2Q EBITDA growth due to easy hold comparison, opex efficiency a focus: CBRE (GGRAsia)

• Macau casino operator SJM Holdings (HKG: 0880 / FRA: 3MG1 / KRX: 025530 / OTCMKTS: SJMHF / SJMHY)’s second-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) growth was “due entirely to an easy hold comparison” with the prior-year period, says CBRE Capital Advisors Inc.

• “Normalising for hold, adjusted EBITDA would have been down 2.1 percent” from a year earlier, they added.

• SJM Holdings is undertaking a “substantial renovation” of the mass gaming floor at Grand Lisboa Palace, the CBRE analysts noted. They said that while the work would be completed in phases to minimise disruption, it expected some impact through the anticipated completion in the first half of 2027.

🇲🇴 LVS development commitments a ‘key credit concern’ despite strong liquidity: Moody’s (GGRAsia)

• U.S-based Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) “substantial development commitments”, particularly the US$8-billion expansion of its Marina Bay Sands (pictured) casino resort in Singapore, are among “key” concerns regarding the group’s credit profile, says Moody’s Ratings.

• The institution also cited the possibility that the casino operator could pursue additional integrated resort opportunities, potentially resulting in periods of “elevated leverage” if such projects were financed materially with debt.

• Moody’s made the comments in a recent credit opinion. The ratings agency currently assigns a ‘Baa3’ senior unsecured rating to Las Vegas Sands, with a ‘stable’ outlook. Its Macau unit Sands China (HKG: 1928 / FRA: 599A / OTCMKTS: SCHYY / OTCMKTS: SCHYF) has a ‘Baa2’ senior unsecured rating, also with a ‘stable’ outlook.

• “Continued dividends, share repurchases and the use of secured debt to fund developments also constrain the credit profile,” Moody’s stated.

🇲🇴 Sands China adopts alternative HK bourse public-float threshold as LVS stake tops 75pct (GGRAsia)

• Hong Kong-listed Macau casino operator Sands China (HKG: 1928 / FRA: 599A / OTCMKTS: SCHYY / OTCMKTS: SCHYF) says its public float of shares has fallen slightly below the 25 percent initial prescribed threshold under the bourse’s listing rules. As of a Tuesday filing, its public float was 24.99 percent of issued shares on the latest practicable date.

• A total of 75.01 percent of Sands China was – as of the filing – held by Venetian Venture Development Intermediate II (VVDI II). That entity is controlled by United States-based Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS), the parent business founded by the late Sheldon Adelson.

• Sands China said in its Tuesday filing that as a result of its parent being slightly above the initial prescribed percentage for its shareholding, Sands China had switched to the alternative public-float threshold under the Hong Kong bourse’s listing rules.

🇲🇴 Wynn Macau Ltd grants US$26mln in shares to staff, others to mark 20th anniversary of first Macau property (GGRAsia)

• Macau casino operator Wynn Macau Ltd (HKG: 1128 / FRA: 8WY / OTCMKTS: WYNMY / WYNMF) has granted nearly 36.0 million shares to more than 11,000 employees and other parties under an employee ownership scheme, as the company marks the 20th anniversary of the opening of its first property in the city, the Wynn Macau hotel-resort.

🇹🇼 TCL Electronics (1070 HK)’s Photovoltaic Spin-Off: Sharper Focus, Marginal Uplift (Hong Kong/China M&A/Events) $

• On the 24th August 2026, TCL Electronics Limited (HKG: 1070 / FRA: TC2A / OTCMKTS: TCLHF), a global consumer electronics play, announced the spin-off of its photovoltaic business segment by way of distribution in specie.

• 1Q26 photovoltaic revs were HK$4.8bn, ~16.4% of group revenue, compared to 18% and 13% in FY25 and FY25. Given lower margins, its % contribution to the bottom line is smaller.

• Other significant developments include the Sony Corp (6758 JP) home-entertainment business JV; and the recent HK$5.6bn air-conditioning acquisition.

🇰🇷 Recent Bloodbath Margin Calls in the Korean Stock Market – 0.36 Million Margin Accounts Liquidated (Douglas Research Insights) $

• In this insight, I provide a detailed analysis of the recent major bloodbath margin calls and liquidations in the Korean stock market, especially in the summer of 2026.

• There are about 1.5 million active margin accounts in Korea, of which more than 1.2 million margin accounts received margin call triggers and 0.36 million have been liquidated this summer.

• It may take more time for retail Korean investors to regain confidence and re-enter the domestic market more actively due to recent trauma from their margin calls and liquidations.

🇰🇷 S.Korea govt probes claims GKL’s 2025 casino-visit figures were inflated: report (GGRAsia)

• South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is investigating claims that foreigner-only casino operator Grand Korea Leisure Co Ltd (KRX: 114090) may have inflated the number of non-member customers it declared as visiting its three casinos last year, reported the Yonhap News Agency.

• The news outlet said its report was based on “internal allegations” at the company and internal data obtained by the agency.

🇰🇷 GKL’s August casino sales down year-on-year and sequentially to US$23mln (GGRAsia)

• Grand Korea Leisure Co Ltd (KRX: 114090), an operator in South Korea of foreigner-only casinos, saw its August casino sales register both a sequential and year-on-year decline, according to a filing it lodged with the Korea Exchange on Thursday.

🇰🇷 Kangwon Land Inc signs deals with Philippine and Vietnamese travel firms (GGRAsia)

• Kangwon Land Inc, operator of Kangwon Land (KRX: 035250) – a resort with South Korea’s only casino open to locals – is increasing ties with Southeast Asian travel firms to encourage additional foreign visitors to the property

• It said in a press release, it has signed agreements with two travel agencies: Leisure Trips Philippines; and Dong Thi Travel, in Vietnam.

🇰🇷 Kangwon Land Inc’s new CEO pledges to make resort part of a regional tourism offering (GGRAsia)

• Kangwon Land (KRX: 035250)’s newly-appointed chief executive, Kim Do-gyun (pictured), says the resort operator – the only business in South Korea allowed to offer casino gambling to locals – will speed a move to make the Kangwon Land site part of a comprehensive tourism offer linked to other local attractions.

🇰🇷 Jeju Dream Tower August casino sales up 7.5pct y-o-y to US$34mln (GGRAsia)

• August casino sales for South Korea’s Lotte Tour Development (KRX: 032350) reached nearly KRW46.22 billion (US$33.7 million), up by 7.5 percent year-on-year, according to a Tuesday filing with the Korea Exchange.

• Judged sequentially, last month’s casino sales were down 10.4 percent from July’s KRW51.59 billion, the latter having been the best monthly performance so far this year.

🇰🇷 A Brewing Proxy Battle for Youngone Corp in 2027 [Quad Asset/Activist Investors Vs Chairman Sung] (Douglas Research Insights) $

• There is an increasing likelihood of a proxy battle for Youngone Corp (KRX: 111770) involving several corporate activist investors versus Chairman Sung Ki-hak/family.

• An intense battle appears inevitable at the 2027 regular AGM, which is less than a year away, especially if multiple institutional investors form a shareholder coalition.

• There could be least five institutional investors (including Quad Asset Mgmt and VIP Asset Mgmt) that may try to raise corporate activism on Youngone Corp.

🇰🇷 Paradise Co sees August casino sales jump 32pct y-o-y to US$77mln, with growth across all four venues (GGRAsia)

• Paradise Co Ltd (KOSDAQ: 034230), an operator in South Korea of foreigner-only casinos, said its August casino sales grew by 32.1 percent year-on-year to nearly KRW104.91 billion (US$76.8 million).

• Judged sequentially from July, Paradise Co’s group-wide August casino sales were up 35.8 percent.

• That is according to a Wednesday filing the company lodged with the Korea Exchange. The firm reported casino-revenue growth across all of its four gaming venues, showed GGRAsia’s review of Paradise Co’s supplementary business data published the same day.

🇰🇷 Progress of 55 Trillion Won Share Buybacks Announced by SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics (Douglas Research Insights) $

• As of 1 September, SK Hynix (KRX: 000660 / NASDAQ: SKHY) and Samsung Electronics (KRX: 005930 / 005935 / LON: BC94 / FRA: SSUN / OTCMKTS: SSNLF) have repurchased 13.5 trillion won, representing 24.5% of total planned buyback amount.

• At the current pace, SK Hynix is expected to complete its buyback by October 2026. Samsung Electronics is also expected to complete its buyback earlier (in late September or October).

• I continue to maintain the view that Samsung Electronics will announce a much bigger buyback/cancellation program in January 2027.

🇰🇷 Korea Small Cap Gem #69: Mezoo (Douglas Research Insights) $

• Mezoo Co Ltd (KOSDAQ: 0088M0), which provides wearable medical devices and software, is experiencing exploding sales and profit growth.

• Mejoo generated sales of 9.6 billion won (up 216% YoY) in 1H 2026. Operating margin improved materially from -47.5% in 1H 2025 to 19.1% in 1H 2026.

• Despite surging sales and profits, valuations are dirt cheap. It is trading at P/E of 5.4x based on 2027 consensus earnings estimates.

🇰🇷 Japan Airlines – To Acquire A Portion of Hanjin Kal Shares and Become a White Knight? (Douglas Research Insights) $

• On 4 September, numerous local media accounts mentioned that Japan Airlines (TYO: 9201 / FRA: JAL / OTCMKTS: JPNRF) has acquired a stake in Hanjin Kal (KRX: 180640), the holding company of Korean Air Lines.

• There is an increasing speculation that Japan Airlines could act as a “white knight” for Hanjin Kal.

• Hoban Group recently increased its stake in Hanjin KAL to 20.15%, narrowing the gap with Chairman Cho to just 0.41 percentage points.

🇰🇷 Cha Partners Demands Higher Shareholder Returns from Refine Co (Douglas Research Insights) $

• One of the minority investors in Refine Co Ltd (KOSDAQ: 377450) called Cha Partners is heavily opposed this deal and has demanded higher shareholder returns.

• The tender offer price is approximately 35% lower than the 27,159 won per share paid by Realty Fine when acquiring the stake from the existing largest shareholder.

• At this point, it appears that the tender offer completion rate could be about 50-70% of total shares up for tender offer (5.2 million).

🇰🇷 A Merger of KOGAS and KNOC Could Destroy Shareholder Value for KOGAS (Douglas Research Insights) $

• It has been reported in numerous local media that the Korean government is seriously considering on merging Korea Gas Corporation (KRX: 036460) (KOGAS) with Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC).

• I have a negative view on this merger since it worsens KOGAS’s balance significantly. As such, the speculation about a potential merger is likely to push KOGAS’s share price lower.

• KNOC already faces meaningful bankruptcy risks. Therefore, if these two companies merge, one of the worst case scenarios is a massive capital raise at the expense of diluting existing shareholders.

🇰🇷 LG Corp: Ongoing Legal Feud Between Chairman Koo Vs Mum/Sisters and Updated NAV Analysis (Douglas Research Insights) $

• My base case valuation of LG Corp (KRX: 003550 / 003555) is implied market cap of 26.9 trillion won or NAV per share of 177,595 won, which is 42% higher than current share price.

• LG Corp’s investments in five core publicly listed companies including LG Chem (KRX: 051910 / 051915) and LG Electronics (KRX: 066570 / 066575 / FRA: LGLG / LON: 39IB) are now worth 26.5 trillion won which is 99% of its current market cap.

• Legal feud between LG Group Chairman Koo and his mum/sisters have been going on for more than three years. Appellate court has scheduled the next hearing for 27 November.

🇰🇷 Golfzon Holdings: One & Partners Pivots To “Plan B” (No Delisting For Now) (Douglas Research Insights) $

• Post the conclusion of the second tender offer, One & Partners pivoted from their previous stance and announced that it no longer plans to delist Golfzon Holdings Co Ltd (KOSDAQ: 121440) for now.

• The pressure is on for One & Partners to improve corporate governance and share price of Golfzon Holdings further in the coming months.

• Since the announcement of the initial tender offer, Golfzon Holdings’ share price has climbed 89.2% to 8,050 won.

🇰🇷 Hyundai Corporation Holdings (227840): the double discount, and a royalty business for 1x earnings (Numbers not Narrative)

• A ₩37.8bn royalty stream sits on this balance sheet at a net book value of ₩0.1bn. The market pays ₩25bn for it and throws in other businesses worth ₩97bn for free.

• Hyundai Corporation Holdings Co Ltd (KRX: 227840), 현대코퍼레이션홀딩스) collects a fee every time somebody sells a generator, a power tool or an air conditioner under the HYUNDAI logo somewhere outside Korea. It also owns a quarter of a ₩8.7 trillion trading house, imports frozen meat, makes cardboard boxes in Cambodia and grows shiitake mushrooms in Lancashire. The whole thing is worth ₩122.2bn (US$86m) and no broker has published a report on it since May 2021.

• Two companies here share almost the same name, so let me fix the labels first.

• Holdco is Hyundai Corporation Holdings Co Ltd (KRX: 227840). That is the one I am writing about.

• Tradeco is Hyundai Corp (KRX: 011760), 현대코퍼레이션), the general trading house. Holdco owns 26.38% of it.

🇰🇷 The Nespresso Model, Applied to Hospital Labs: Sell the Reader Once, Sell the Strips Forever (Numbers not Narrative)

• Protia Inc (KOSDAQ: 303360) has its readers in nine of Korea’s ten biggest labs and grows 40% a year. The stock costs 11x operating profit, and the reason is in the filings.

• Your doctor wants to know what you are allergic to. The old way is the skin prick test: a grid marked on your forearm, a drop of each allergen, a prick through the skin, twenty minutes of waiting to see which spots swell.

• PROTIA sells the newer way, and from the patient’s side there is almost nothing to it. A nurse draws blood from a vein, sends the tube off to a laboratory, and you are out of the room in two minutes.

🇲🇾 IHH Healthcare Berhad 2026 Q2 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

🇲🇾 Nam Cheong $1MZ (2) – 18 Months Recap (The Value Sutra)

• Deleveraging is done and shipbuilding is back — but the real prize is the 2027–28 supply squeeze. Time to add, or time to wait?

• I first wrote about Nam Cheong Ltd (SGX: 1MZ / OTCMKTS: NCHGF) in March 2025. I doubled down in the range of 0.48–0.52 SGD in June 2025 and watched the stock triple to 1.65 SGD by February 2026. Since then it has retreated to 1.06 SGD — which makes me ask: is it time to add? You can find my original write-up here: link

• As of August 2026, Nam Cheong owns 35 Offshore Support Vessels (OSVs), which it charters mainly to O&G majors in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Currently, 3 of the 35 vessels are deployed in the Strait of Hormuz (You can track the vessel here). Everyone unfamiliar with the company I recommend scrolling through its LinkedIn channel: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nam-cheong

🇵🇭 DFNN 2Q net loss narrows 22pct to US$1.8mln, as revenue slips (GGRAsia)

• Philippine information technology and gaming services firm DFNN Inc (PSE: DFNN) reported a net loss attributable to shareholders of about PHP112.4 million (US$1.8 million) for the second quarter of 2026, with such loss narrowing by 21.7 percent from a year earlier.

• Via subsidiaries, DFNN has licences for electronic gaming machines, a sports betting exchange, and digit and pari-mutuel games, with the nation’s gaming regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor).

🇸🇬 Singapore moves to sharpen asset management edge (The Asset)

• Fresh incentives heat up rivalry with Hong Kong for fund business

• Singapore is fine-tuning its pitch to the global asset management industry, rolling out new tax, investment and immigration incentives as competition with Hong Kong for capital, fund managers and investment talent intensifies.

• The Monetary Authority of Singapore ( MAS ) has unveiled three measures designed to persuade more global fund managers to put capital, senior investment professionals and higher-value operations in the city-state.

• Instead of simply making Singapore an easier place to establish a fund management business, the new package is targeting the economics of operating and growing one.

🇸🇬 Top Stock Market Highlights of the Week: Frasers Property, Singtel, Keppel DC REIT, OUE Healthcare and the US Federal Reserve (The Smart Investor)

• This week, we look at a major hospitality portfolio revamp, two landmark data centre transactions, a privatisation proposal and the impact of higher US interest rates on Singapore’s market.

  • Shareholders greenlight S$2.1 billion hospitality portfolio revamp

    • Frasers Property Ltd (SGX: TQ5 / FRA: 1IQ) shareholders have overwhelmingly approved a portfolio optimisation of its hospitality assets under Frasers Hospitality Trust (FHT), which was taken private in October 2025.

    • Some 99.07% of shareholders present voted in favour of the resolution at an extraordinary general meeting on 28 August 2026.

  • Joint venture completes S$6.6 billion data centre acquisition

  • Two hyperscale Tokyo data centres acquired in S$1.5 billion deal

    • Keppel DC REIT (SGX: AJBU / OTCMKTS: KPDCF) and Keppel Ltd (SGX: BN4 / FRA: KEP / KEP1 /OTCMKTS: KPELY / KPELF) have agreed to collectively acquire 90% effective interests in Tokyo Data Centre 4 and Tokyo Data Centre 5, two freehold hyperscale colocation facilities in Inzai City, Greater Tokyo.

  • Privatisation proposed for regional healthcare subsidiary at S$0.05 per share

    • OUE Ltd (SGX: LJ3 / FRA: OUE1) wholly owned subsidiary, Treasure International Holdings, has proposed the privatisation of Catalist-listed OUE Healthcare (SGX: 5WA) via a scheme of arrangement at S$0.05 per share in cash.

  • Hawkish Jackson Hole speech lifts banks but weighs on S-REITs

    • US Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh’s closely watched Jackson Hole speech on 28 August 2026 was interpreted as a signal for a potential September rate hike, reinforcing the divergence between Singapore’s soaring bank stocks and struggling S-REITs.

🇸🇬 CGS Fullgoal Singapore Next 50 Active ETF: 10 Things to Know Before You Buy (The Smart Investor)

• The CGS Fullgoal Singapore Next 50 Active ETF offers investors access to SGX’s SMID-cap stocks, but here are 10 things to know first. Singapore’s stock market is about to gain its first actively managed Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) focused on small- and mid-cap (SMID-cap) stocks.

• The CGS Fullgoal Singapore Next 50 Active ETF (SGX: Q50) is expected to list on 3 September 2026, giving investors access to the tier of SGX-listed companies sitting just below the 30 blue chips in the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI).

• The fund uses a systematic, factor-based approach to try to beat its benchmark.

• Before you invest, here are 10 key facts worth knowing.

🇸🇬 Singapore High Court blocks Sands China unit from enforcing US$2.5mln gambling debt judgment (GGRAsia)

• Overseas casino operators face a significant obstacle in recovering gambling debts from VIP patrons with assets in Singapore, following a High Court ruling that blocked an attempt by Venetian Macau Ltd – the casino concession-holding entity of Macau casino operator Sands China (HKG: 1928 / FRA: 599A / OTCMKTS: SCHYY / OTCMKTS: SCHYF) – to enforce a HKD19.35-million (US$2.5 million) Hong Kong judgment.

• In a ruling handed down on September 4 in the case “Venetian Macau Ltd versus Hu Yangning”, Singapore High Court Judge Philip Jeyaretnam held that enforcing the foreign judgment would breach Singapore’s long-standing public policy against using the courts to collect money lent or won on wagers overseas.

🇸🇬 Fallen Giants: 3 Blue-Chip Stocks Dragging Down the Market This August (The Smart Investor)

• These three Singapore blue-chip stocks lagged the STI in August 2026, with free cash flow and dividend trends offering clues behind their declines.

  • What happened to DFI Retail Group (SGX: D01 / FRA: DFA1 / OTCMKTS: DFIHY)’s special dividend?

    • DFI Retail Group operates a major pan-Asian retail footprint with 7,659 outlets across 12 markets, spanning Health and Beauty (Guardian, Mannings), Convenience (7-Eleven), Food (Wellcome, Market Place), Home Furnishings (IKEA), and Restaurants (Maxim’s).

  • Is Astra’s weakness weighing on Jardine Matheson?

    • Jardine Matheson (SGX: J36 / FRA: H4W / OTCMKTS: JARLF) – the parent conglomerate with holdings in Astra, Hongkong Land, DFI Retail, Jardine Pacific, and Mandarin Oriental – shared in the monthly weakness alongside its retail subsidiary.

  • Can SATS Ltd (SGX: S58 / FRA: W1J / OTCMKTS: SPASF) turn revenue growth into cash flow?

  • Get Smart: Earnings growth is not the same as cash flow growth

🇸🇬 Beat the Market: Top 3 Blue-Chip SGX Stocks Dominating August 2026 (The Smart Investor)

• Three Singapore blue-chip stocks beat the market in August 2026, with 1H2026 earnings revealing the strength behind their gains.

• The SPDR STI ETF (SGX: ES3), which tracks Singapore’s Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI), turned in a 0.6% total return for August 2026.

• However, three blue-chip stocks far outpaced the benchmark over the same period: Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings (SGX: BS6 / FRA: B8O / OTCMKTS: YSHLF) surged 25%, Sembcorp Industries (SGX: U96 / FRA: SBOA / OTCMKTS: SCRPF) gained 10.9%, and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) (SGX: O39 / FRA: OCBA / FRA: OCBB / OTCMKTS: OVCHY) returned 8.3%.

  • What drove YZJ’s 25% return?

  • Why did Sembcorp outperform despite a profit drop?

    • Sembcorp presents a more nuanced setup.

    • Net profit attributable to shareholders fell 72% YoY to S$150 million for 1H2026, primarily due to S$155 million in transaction costs related to the Alinta acquisition and the absence of prior-year divestment gains.

  • How did OCBC hit a record despite lower lending margins?

    • OCBC delivered a record net profit of S$4.2 billion for 1H2026, up 13% YoY, as total income expanded 11% to S$8.0 billion.

  • Get Smart: Focus on Dividend Safety Over Recent Gains

🇸🇬 Grab: The Growth Story Is Just Beginning (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇸🇬 GRAB Valuation Breakdown (TheCatalyst)

• In this article I will focus on the valuation of Grab Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: GRAB). If you want to learn more about the business of Grab check out this article: https://substack.com/@dacatalyst/p-208479862

• There are a few different valuation models I will use in this article. The first one will be a simple reverse dcf using Grab’s reported Adj. fcf minus sbc as the growth rate I will be solving for. This is based on a 10 year time frame.

🇸🇬 Sea Limited’s Rally Still Has Legs – H2 2026 Macro Risks To Note (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇸🇬 Sea Limited: Future Depends On Shopee (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

• 🌏 Sea Limited (NYSE: SE) – 3 core businesses: Garena (global online games developer & publisher), Shopee (largest pan-regional e-commerce platform in SE Asia & Taiwan), SeaMoney (leading digital payments & financial services provider in SE Asia). 🇼 🏷️

🇸🇬 Micro-Mechanics (Holdings) Ltd. 2026 Q4 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

🇸🇬 BW LPG Limited 2026 Q2 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

🇸🇬 Hafnia: Hormuz Keeps The Q4 Upside Alive (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇸🇬 Hafnia Limited 2026 Q2 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

• 🌐 Hafnia Ltd (NYSE: HAFN) – Product & chemical tankers. Integrated shipping platform (technical management, commercial & chartering services, pool management & bunker desk. Singapore HQ. 🇼

🇸🇬 3 Stocks to Buy for HENRYs (The Smart Investor)

• HENRYs may earn high incomes but still have relatively little accumulated wealth. These three stocks could help high-income professionals turn strong earning power into long-term wealth through growth, dividends, and compounding.

  • What Should HENRYs Look for in Stocks?

  • Centurion Corporation Ltd (SGX: OU8) — The Growth Compounder

    • Centurion Corporation builds and manages purpose-built accommodation, including worker dormitories in Singapore and Malaysia and student housing in Australia, the UK and Hong Kong.

    • Singapore’s construction pipeline supports demand for migrant-worker accommodation, while tighter dormitory standards raise the cost and complexity of operating in the sector.

  • Sheng Siong Group (SGX: OV8 / OTCMKTS: SHSGF) — The Dividend Grower

    • Sheng Siong operates around 90 supermarkets in Singapore, mainly in the heartlands, with three more stores expected to open in the third quarter.

    • Grocery demand is defensive, cash generation is strong and its balance sheet carries no debt.

  • DBS Group (SGX: D05 / FRA: DEVL / DEV / OTCMKTS: DBSDY / DBSDF) — The Blue-Chip Anchor

  • How a HENRY Could Think About Portfolio Construction

  • The Biggest HENRY Investing Mistake: Lifestyle Inflation

  • What HENRYs Should Avoid

  • Get Smart: Turn Income Into Assets

🇸🇬 3 SGX Blue Chips Boosting Their Quarterly Dividends by Up to 25% (The Smart Investor)

• Three Singapore blue-chip stocks raised quarterly dividends by up to 25%, but investors should look beyond the headline increases to their sustainability.

• In their latest earnings reports, Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (SGX: S63 / FRA: SJX / OTCMKTS: SGGKF) or ST Engineering, DBS Group (SGX: D05 / FRA: DEVL / DEV / OTCMKTS: DBSDY / DBSDF), and Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX: S68 / FRA: SOU / SOUU / OTCMKTS: SPXCF / SPXCY) all announced increases to their quarterly distributions.

  • Can ST Engineering’s record order book keep its dividends growing?

    • ST Engineering declared a second-quarter 2026 (2Q2026) interim dividend of S$0.05 per share, up from S$0.04 in the first quarter.

  • What’s driving DBS’s record S$6 billion income?

  • Is SGX’s dividend increase repeatable?

  • Get Smart: Not all dividend increases are equal

🇸🇬 Dividend Surge: 3 SGX Next 50 Stocks Delivering 50%+ Hikes (The Smart Investor)

• These three Singapore stocks delivered dividend hikes above 50%, with free cash flow separating sustainable payouts from one-off increases.

• Pan-United Corporation Ltd (SGX: P52) pays on 4 September, followed by Hong Leong Asia Ltd (SGX: H22 / FRA: HOM) on 9 September, with First Resources Ltd (SGX: EB5 / FRA: 5F1 / OTCMKTS: FTROF) rounding out the trio on 10 September.

  • Can Singapore’s construction boom sustain a 50% dividend increase?

  • What’s behind the 50% payout increase at Hong Leong Asia?

    • Hong Leong Asia raised its interim payout 50% to S$0.03 per share, up from S$0.02 last year, with no special dividend declared.

  • How did First Resources fund a 77.8% dividend increase?

  • Get Smart: What Separates a Dividend Increase That Lasts From One That Doesn’t?

🇸🇬 Forget the Banks: 3 Singapore Dividend Stocks Worth Watching (The Smart Investor)

• Singapore’s banks may dominate the dividend conversation, but they are not the only place to find reliable income.

• Here are three distinct non-bank dividend stocks worth putting on your radar today.

  • Why Look Beyond Singapore’s Banks?

  • Venture Corporation (SGX: V03 / FRA: VEM / OTCMKTS: VEMLF): The Cash-Rich Dividend Compounder

    • Venture functions as a balance sheet fortress, holding S$1.11 billion in net cash with zero debt.

    • Operating as a technology solution provider across life sciences, medical equipment, and networking domains, it generates dependable cash flow.

    • The stock yields 4.5% based on a trailing ordinary dividend of S$0.75 per share.

  • Sheng Siong Group (SGX: OV8 / OTCMKTS: SHSGF): The Defensive Income Stock

  • Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (SGX: S63 / FRA: SJX / OTCMKTS: SGGKF) or ST Engineering: The Dividend Growth Play

    • ST Engineering functions as a global technology, defence, and engineering group with a record-high order book of S$35.7 billion.

    • The stock currently offers a 2.3% dividend yield, although recent quarterly raises reflect an upward trend.

  • How Do They Stack Up Against the Banks?

  • Get Smart: Look Beyond the Obvious Dividend Winners

🇸🇬 Singtel vs ST Engineering: Which Dividend Stock Is Better for the Next 10 Years? (The Smart Investor)

• Singtel and ST Engineering offer investors two very different dividend stories. We compare their earnings, free cash flow, dividends and growth prospects to see which could deliver better returns over the next decade.

• Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (SGX: Z74 / FRA: SIT / SIT4 / OTCMKTS: SGAPY / SNGNF) or Singtel, is a telecom giant reinventing itself around digital infrastructure, while Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (SGX: S63 / FRA: SJX / OTCMKTS: SGGKF), also known as ST Engineering, is a diversified aerospace-and-defence group riding structural global tailwinds.

• Both pay solid dividends.

  • Singtel: The Case for a Long-Term Dividend Investor

  • ST Engineering: The Case for a Long-Term Dividend Investor

  • Dividend Showdown: Which Stock Pays More?

  • Free Cash Flow: Which Company Has the Stronger Dividend Engine?

  • Earnings Growth: Which Business Has More Room to Compound?

  • Balance Sheet and Financial Strength

  • Which Dividend Is More Sustainable?

  • Growth vs Income: The Two Stocks Offer Different Trade-Offs

  • Valuation: Which Stock Offers Better Value Today?

  • Could Investors Own Both?

  • Get Smart: Look Beyond the Yield

🇸🇬 Yangzijiang vs ST Engineering: Which Singapore Growth Stock Would I Buy? (The Smart Investor)

• Two Singapore-listed companies have very different growth stories – one benefits from global shipbuilding demand, while the other is positioned around aerospace, defence and technology. Which offers the better long-term opportunity?

• Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings (SGX: BS6 / FRA: B8O / OTCMKTS: YSHLF), or YZJ, is highly linked to global trade, shipping cycles, and vessel demand.

• On the other hand, Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (SGX: S63 / FRA: SJX / OTCMKTS: SGGKF), or STE, is riding long-run trends in aviation, defence and smart infrastructure.

  • Understanding the Two Businesses

  • Growth Story #1: YZJ

  • Growth Story #2: STE

  • Head-to-Head Comparison

  • Which Company Has the Stronger Competitive Advantage?

  • Valuation: Which Stock Offers Better Value?

  • What Type of Investor Might Prefer Each?

  • Get Smart: Growth Can Come in Different Forms

🇸🇬 Are Local Banks Dangerously Overvalued? What DBS, OCBC, and UOB Aren’t Telling Shareholders (The Smart Investor)

• Singapore’s three local banks have delivered strong profits, rising dividends, and impressive share price gains. But after a powerful rally, investors should ask whether DBS Group (SGX: D05 / FRA: DEVL / DEV / OTCMKTS: DBSDY / DBSDF), Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) (SGX: O39 / FRA: OCBA / FRA: OCBB / OTCMKTS: OVCHY), and United Overseas Bank (SGX: U11 / FRA: UOB / UOB0 / OTCMKTS: UOVEY / UOVEF) are still attractive investments or if expectations have become too high.

• Instead of letting prices control your emotions, let’s dig into their business to find out whether the upsides at current prices are still bankable.

  • Local Banks, Different Strengths

  • Red Flags Investors Should Know

  • Should You Sell (Or Buy)?

  • Get Smart: Compounding Matters More Than Timing

🇸🇬 DBS Was “Expensive” at S$59. Now It’s S$77.60. Should You Sell? (The Smart Investor)

• DBS Group (SGX: D05 / FRA: DEVL / DEV / OTCMKTS: DBSDY / DBSDF) shares have surged from S$59 to S$77.60. Should investors sell? Learn when to hold, take profits, or sell a winning stock based on fundamentals.

  • The problem with “I’ll buy it back cheaper”

  • Has DBS actually become a worse business?

  • Buying DBS today isn’t the same as holding DBS today

  • Why investors sell winners too early

  • When should you actually sell a winning stock?

  • Get Smart: Know what would make you buy it back

🇸🇬 S$10,000 Invested in DBS vs OCBC vs UOB 10 Years Ago: Who Won? (The Smart Investor)

• If you had invested S$10,000 in DBS, OCBC or UOB a decade ago and reinvested the dividends, which Singapore bank would have delivered the biggest return?

  • The Rules of the S$10,000 Contest

  • DBS Group (SGX: D05 / FRA: DEVL / DEV / OTCMKTS: DBSDY / DBSDF): From S$10,000 to S$74,495

    • A decade ago, DBS closed at S$13.73, so S$10,000 bought about 728 shares, paying an initial yield of about 4.4%.

    • In February 2024, DBS declared a one-for-10 bonus issue, lifting the holding to 800 shares at no extra cost.

  • Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) (SGX: O39 / FRA: OCBA / FRA: OCBB / OTCMKTS: OVCHY): From S$10,000 to S$43,300

    • OCBC started at S$8.62, so S$10,000 bought about 1,160 shares with a starting yield of 4.2%.

    • Since then, your shares have risen to roughly S$31, a 3.6x increase, lifting those shares to roughly S$35,960.

  • United Overseas Bank (SGX: U11 / FRA: UOB / UOB0 / OTCMKTS: UOVEY / UOVEF): From S$10,000 to S$30,259

    • UOB began at the highest initial price, S$18.05, so S$10,000 bought the fewest shares at about 554.

    • At an initial dividend per share of S$0.70, the beginning yield is near 3.9%.

  • The Final S$10,000 Showdown

  • Who Won?

  • What Happened During the 10 Years?

  • Past Winners May Not Be Future Winners

  • What This 10-Year Experiment Teaches Investors

  • Get Smart: The Winner Is More Than Just the Stock With the Biggest Gain

🇹🇭 The Flood that Wrecked the Hard Disk Drive Industry (Asianometry)

• Over decades, the hard disk drive industry moved its manufacturing to Southeast Asia. Thailand in particular became a central node in that chain. This became an issue in 2011, when massive, unusual rains led to huge floods that brought 40% of the world’s hard disk drive supply to its knees. In today’s video, a look back at the time floods in Thailand rocked the global HDD industry.

🇹🇭 Thai Oil Public Company Limited 2026 Q2 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

🇮🇳 Chief of India’s largest private bank to step down (FT) $ 🗃️

• HDFC Bank (NYSE: HDB) chief’s exit will come just months after chair departed, citing ‘ethical differences’

🇮🇳 Skipper Limited: From Order Book To Earnings (Smartkarma) $

[Skipper Ltd (NSE: SKIPPER / BOM: 538562)]

• Q1 FY27 delivered record first quarter revenue, 60 bps EBITDA margin expansion and the company’s highest ever closing order book.

• Backlog equals roughly 1.66 times FY26 revenue, offering multi year visibility as India and overseas markets accelerate grid investment.

• The story has shifted from order acquisition to profitable conversion; cash flow and execution mix now matter more than headline wins.

🇮🇳 Pitti Engineering: Laminating a Path to India’s Electrification Boom (Smartkarma) $

• Pitti Engineering Ltd (NSE: PITTIENG / BOM: 513519) posted 16% YoY revenue growth to Rs.529 crore in Q1 FY27, with adjusted PAT up 25% to Rs.32 crore, as lamination volumes rose 18% and management raised full-year guidance.

• The company is shifting from a railway-and-power-generation-heavy revenue base toward mining, data centers and special-application motors, broadening its structural growth exposure.

• With Rs.440 crore of capex underway and FY27 EBITDA guided at Rs.370 crore, the execution runway matters as much as the quarter’s headline numbers, explored below.

🇮🇳 Hidden Business in Cyient Limited: The Semiconductor Pivot (Smartkarma) $

• Cyient Semiconductors [Cyient (NSE: CYIENT / BOM: 532175)] posted Q1 FY27 revenue of INR 169.7 crore, with Kinetic contributing US$10.4 million and legacy revenue reaching US$7.5 million after five quarters of 5%+ sequential organic growth.

• Kinetic transforms Cyient into a semiconductor product platform with 250+ products, 100+ proven IPs and 250 million annual shipments, supporting future scale and margins.

• Semiconductors is becoming strategically important, backed by a US$500 million valuation, but remains loss-making; breakeven is expected in FY28 while high-voltage products continue consuming cash.

🇮🇳 Sterlite Technologies: Project Lakshya Raises The Stakes (Smartkarma) $

[Sterlite Technologies Ltd (NSE: STLTECH / BOM: 532374)]

• Project Lakshya targets Rs. 20,000 crore revenue and more than 27% EBITDA margin by FY29, supported by 50% capacity expansion.

• The plan implies a 61.6% revenue CAGR from FY26 and at least Rs. 5,400 crore of FY29 EBITDA, an earnings reset, if delivered.

• The debate shifts from cyclical fibre recovery to execution, product mix, customer concentration, capex discipline and order conversion.

🇮🇳 Lumino Industries IPO Review: Wire & Cables Manufacturing + EPC Play (Smartkarma) $

• Lumino Industries Ltd (NSE: LUMINO / BOM: 544894) opens its Rs.700 crore mainboard IPO , at a Rs.78 to Rs.82 band, listing on 3rd September on the BSE and NSE.

• The Kolkata based conductor, cable and EPC player asking 15.6 times post-issue FY26 earnings against peers trading between 19 and 82 times, while remaining structurally dependent on government power utilities.

• How a declining but still-material government revenue base, a near doubled order book and a Rs.337 crore debt paydown plan net out for prospective allottees.

🇮🇱 Tower Semiconductor: Japan Expansion Extends The Story Beyond 2028 (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇮🇱 Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (TEVA) Discusses Positive Topline Results for Anti-IL-15 Antibody in Phase IIa Celiac Disease Study – Slideshow (Seeking Alpha)

🇹🇷 Turkcell: Low-Risk Business In A Risky But Growing Country (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇿🇦 Impala Platinum After Earnings: Reiterating Buy Rating Due To Bullish Trends (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇿🇦 Impala Platinum Holdings Limited 2026 Q4 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

• 🌐 Impala Platinum Holdings (JSE: IMP / LON: 0S2J / FRA: IPHB / OTCMKTS: IMPUY / IMPUF) – South African holding company who is a leading producer of platinum group metals (PGMs), structured around 6 mining operations & Impala Refining Services, a toll refining business. 🇼 🏷️

🇿🇦 Sibanye Stillwater’s 1H Results Trigger Massive Turnaround Upside (Review) (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇿🇦 Sibanye Stillwater: The Bull Case Just Got Stronger (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇿🇦 Sibanye Stillwater Limited 2026 Q2 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

• 🌐 Sibanye Stillwater Ltd (JSE: SSW / NYSE: SBSW) – World’s largest primary producers of platinum, palladium & rhodium & is a top-tier gold producer. Projects & investments across 5 continents. 🇼 🏷️

🇿🇦 Northam Platinum Holdings Limited 2026 Q4 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

🇿🇦 Discovery Limited 2026 Q4 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

🇿🇦 The Bidvest Group Limited 2026 Q4 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

• 🌐 Bidvest Group (JSE: BVT / FRA: NQL / FRA: NQL1 / OTCMKTS: BDVSY) – Leading industrial group with over 250 individual businesses in the areas of consumer, pharmaceutical & industrial products, financial services, freight management, office & print solutions, outsourced hard & soft services, travel services & automotive retailing. 🇼 🏷️

🇿🇦 Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Limited 2026 Q4 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

🇿🇦 Shoprite Holdings Ltd 2026 Q4 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

• 🌍 Shoprite Holdings (JSE: SHP / FRA: HY7 / HY7A / OTCMKTS: SRGHY / SRHGF) – Largest South African retailer by market capitalisation, sales, profit & number of employees & customers. Food retailing, complemented by adjacent value-added retail services & offerings across a range of industries. 9 African countries. 🇼 🏷️

🇿🇦 Sasol Limited 2026 Q4 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

• 🌐 Sasol (NYSE: SSL) – Global chemicals & energy company. 3 distinct market-focused businesses, namely: Chemicals, Energy & Sasol ecoFT. 🇼 🏷️

🇪🇪 Wise Group PLC ($WSE) (From $100K to $1M)

• “Money Without Borders”

• Wise Group PLC (NASDAQ: WSE) was founded in 2011 by Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus, two Estonians splitting time between Estonia and UK. The idea came from a problem founders were living through personally. Hinrikus was paid in euros while based in London and needed pounds; Käärmann earned pounds but needed euros back home in Estonia. Instead of both paying banks to convert and transfer money internationally, they simply swapped: Hinrikus moved euros domestically into Käärmann’s Estonian account, and Käärmann moved pounds domestically into Hinrikus’s British account.

🇵🇱 Globe Trade Centre S.A. 2026 Q2 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

🇵🇱 CD Projekt Red S.A. 2026 Q2 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

🌎 El Niño update – September 2026 (Latin America Risk Report)

🌎 Nearly half of Latin America’s ex-presidents are in legal trouble (Latin America Risk Report)

🇦🇷 Banco BBVA Argentina: Bullish With Some Caveats Into 2027 (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇧🇷 Ambev: Strong Beverage Leader That Can Win From Brazil’s Election Uncertainty (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇧🇷 Nu Holdings: The Best Bank In Latin America, At The Wrong Point In The Cycle (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇧🇷 CEMIG: Behind The 11% Yield At This Brazilian Utility Monopoly (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇧🇷 Brazil’s Oil & Gas Crown Jewel: <5x P/E, 6.65% post-tax cash dividend yield, the best margin profile among peers

• The company has zero direct exposure to Strait of Hormuz. A large-cap that the Substack value investing community does not favor.

• This thesis is simple. I believe that the market is assigning too much risk to the point ADRs are handing out c. 10% cash dividend yield at the moment.

• Petrobras (NYSE: PBR / PBR-A / BCBA: PBR / PETR4) is Brazil’s national oil & gas company that conducts refinery work, produce petrochemicals, transport energy, and extend business into renewable energy. It operates the majority of oil & gas exploration & production and refinery in Brazil.

• PBR has historically paid very satisfactory dividends. It has the best margin profile among integrated oil & gas majors.

• Currently trades at <5x trailing P/E by the time the author wrote this article, implying >20% paper earnings yield.

• There are two classes of American Depository Shares: common and preferred. Preferred shares have priority for initial dividend distributions: up to 3% of net book value or 5% of share capital. Preferred shares are non-cumulative.

🇨🇴 GeoPark: Vaca Muerta Is The Growth Story, But The Stock Is Fully Priced (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

• 🌎 GeoPark Ltd (NYSE: GPRK / LON: 0MDP / FRA: G6O) – Leading independent Latin American oil & gas explorer in Colombia, Ecuador, Chile & Brazil. 🏷️

🇲🇽 Grupo Aeroportuario Del PacíFico: The Growth Was Bought, The Dividend Is Borrowed – Hold (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇵🇪 Credicorp Is Turning Peru’s Cash-Based Economy Into A Digital Lending Growth Machine (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

• 🌎 Credicorp (NYSE: BAP) – Universal banking, insurance & pension platform, microfinance, investment banking & wealth management. 🇼

🌐 Nebius: Too Much Worry Is Not Good For Bulls’ Wealth (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🌐 Nebius: Surging Spot Prices Has Me Bullish For Next Year (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🌐 Flow Traders: Growth Strategy Remains Too Cautious (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🌐 Nebius: The Math Doesn’t Work (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🌐 This Is The New Pricing Story For Nebius (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

• 🌐 Nebius Group NV (NASDAQ: NBIS) – AI-centric cloud platform built for intensive AI workloads. Sold Yandex to a consortium of Russian investors. Retains several businesses outside of Russia. 🇼 🏷️

🌐 Nebius Group (NBIS): Updated Valuation Model (M. V. Cunha’s Substack)

• Earlier this month, Nebius Group NV (NASDAQ: NBIS) reported its Q2 2026 results.

• Shares jumped 34% that day after management disclosed important new details around the unit economics of its recently signed contracts.

• Those disclosures materially changed how some investors think about the earnings potential of Nebius’ growing infrastructure base, forcing many analysts to revisit their assumptions and update their models.

• It’s time for me to do the same.

• As promised, here’s my updated valuation model for Nebius Group (NBIS).

Share

Note: Investing.com has a full calendar for most global stock exchanges BUT you may need an Investing.com account, then hit “Filter,” and select the countries you wish to see company earnings from. Otherwise, purple (below) are upcoming earnings for US listed international stocks (Finviz.com):

Click here for the full weekly calendar from Investing.com containing frontier and emerging market economic events or releases (my filter excludes USA, Canada, EU, Australia & NZ).

Frontier and emerging market highlights (from IFES’s Election Guide calendar):

Frontier and emerging market highlights from IPOScoop.com and Investing.com (NOTE: For the latter, you need to go to Filter and “Select All” countries to see IPOs on non-USA exchanges):

MetaOptics (Uplisting) MOT Roth Capital Partners/The Benchmark Company, 3.0M Shares, $5.00-7.00, $18.0 mil, 9/10/2026 Week of

Note: This is NOT an IPO. This is a NASDAQ Uplisting – a public offering – from the Singapore Stock Exchange, where MetaOptics’ ordinary shares have been listed on the Catalist of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (the “SGX-ST”) since Sept. 9, 2025, under the ticker symbol “9MT” – according to the prospectus.

(Incorporated in the Cayman Islands)

We are a Singapore-based company that designs and manufactures metalenses – ultra-thin flat optical lenses that are smaller, lighter and more power efficient than traditional curved lenses.

Making Miniaturization Possible is our mission.

Note: MetaOptics says its metalens technology accommodates the demand for smaller and lighter lenses in smartphones, automotive technology and other uses.

From the prospectus:

We are a vertically integrated metalens technology company, combining core competencies across metalens equipment, foundry, products, and metaoptics artificial intelligence (“AI”). We conduct our operations through our wholly-owned subsidiaries in Singapore and the United States.

Metalenses are ultra-thin flat-surface lenses which are smaller, lighter, consume less power, and offer a wider field of view, compared to conventional optical lenses. The unique flatness of metalenses enables the correction of optical defects, delivering reasonable quality color images. Leveraging our AI-based algorithm and processing software, which incorporates several advanced algorithms to enhance the optical design and image processing, our metalens technology can further sharpen the images to achieve higher resolution and enhanced image quality, and allow users to manipulate the individual red, green and blue (“RGB”) channels to edit the color images through computational reconstruction. We believe that our innovations have transformative potential in shaping next-generation optical systems.

Our operations are centered on the design and manufacture of metalenses and metalens prototypes, and to demonstrate the viability, efficacy, applications and use cases of our metalenses, we have expanded our operations to include the development of metalens camera modules and metalens Internet of Things (“IoT”) products, such as infrared metalens cameras, pico projectors, and IoT metalens color cameras. Our metalenses have also been integrated into a wide range of applications by our customers, including fifth generation (“5G”) smartphones, contactless three-dimensional (“3D”) biometric modules, projectors, and for industrial applications such as IoT devices, light detection and ranging (“LiDAR”) devices and heads-up displays (“HUDs”) for planes and self-driving cars, and augmented reality/virtual reality (“AR/VR”) devices. To date, although we have achieved mass production capabilities for our metalens prototypes (“mass production” in our perspective refers to the shipment of one million metalens units per year), we have not yet received a critical mass of purchase orders from our customers necessitating mass production of our metalenses.

To facilitate small-scale production of our metalenses to fulfil purchase orders, reduce concentration risk and diversify our supply chain, and to demonstrate the manufacturing capabilities for our metalenses, we also design and produce equipment for the manufacture of metalenses, in particular 4-inch direct laser writers (“DLWs”). Our 4-inch DLWs enable our customers to revise specifications and design of metalenses directly, reducing the lead time and providing for a shorter turnaround time from prototyping to testing and deployment into end products. In addition, our metalens equipment offerings have grown to include the design and production of metalens automatic testers, for use by our customers to ensure quality control of metalenses prior to shipment. These capabilities enable us to serve as a one-stop provider of metalens and metalens IoT products, offer customers comprehensive end-to-end services, and preserve and grow our competitive advantage in the industry.

We offer our products to manufacturers of automotives, AR/VR devices, consumer electronic appliances, end-customers, and traders for the distribution of such products. While we offer our products worldwide, our existing customers for metalens equipment, metalenses and IoT products are mainly located in Singapore, Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, the United States, and several countries in Europe.

We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering primarily to support our expansion plans in the United States. See “Use of Proceeds.”

Note: Net loss and revenue are in U.S. dollars (converted from Singapore dollars) for the year that ended Dec. 31, 2025.

(Note: MetaOptics cut its NASDAQ Uplisting deal’s size to 3 million American Depositary Shares (ADS) – down from 4 million ADS – and disclosed a price range of $5.00 to $7.00 – a change from the assumed price of $8.15 per share – to raise $18 million, according to an F-1/A filing dated June 10, 2026. Each ADS equals 12 ordinary shares.)

(Background: MetaOptics disclosed the terms for its NASDAQ Uplisting – a small public offering – on May 18, 2026, in an F-1/A filing: 4 million ADS at an assumed price of $8.15 to raise $32.6 million. The price – $8.15 – is the as-converted last price of MetaOptics’ shares on May 15, 2026, on the Singapore Exchange. Initial Filing: MetaOptics filed its F-1 for its uplisting to the NASDAQ – an offering that MetaOptics calls its IPO – on May, 4, 2026, without disclosing the terms. MetaOptics’ stock is listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange under the ticker “9MT” – according to the prospectus. Estimated proceeds for the NASDAQ uplisting – public offering – were up to $23 million.)

Web3Labs Global Inc. MDAT Eddid Securities USA, 6.3M Shares, $4.00-5.00, $28.1 mil, 9/14/2026 Week of

(Incorporated in the Cayman Islands)

We are a Hong Kong-based company that provides Web3-related business services to support blockchain companies and decentralized tech enterprises, including start-ups.

We aim to create a Web3 entrepreneurial platform through diverse services, investment acceleration, and technical collaboration.

We are an innovative Hong Kong-based Web3 service provider dedicated to empowering enterprises including start-ups in the blockchain space through comprehensive, tailored support. Web3 ecosystem refers to industries focused on the decentralized evolution of the internet, powered by blockchain technology, enabling user-owned data, peer-to-peer transactions, and trustless systems without intermediaries. We seek to promote the adoption of and commercialization of decentralized solutions by facilitating a robust ecosystem of resources, expertise, and opportunities. Since our inception, we have supported many enterprises in Web3 including many start-ups with incubation, consultation and operational services, and are working to establish an active presence through regional hubs in Asia. By fostering innovation, collaboration, and compliance, we seek to serve as a catalyst for the growth of the blockchain industry in Asia, helping enterprises transform forward-thinking ideas into scalable realities.

Our comprehensive service offerings in the Web3 ecosystem primarily include (i) strategic consulting services (such as producing feasibility reports and consultation regarding business models in the Web3 industry), (ii) acceleration program management services, where we bridge early-stage companies to blockchain infrastructures, bolstering the companies’ development in their applications including decentralized solutions and their commercialization through token generation events and market integration, and (iii) general business services including marketing, market research and other business consulting services provided to third-party startup entities (such as market trend analysis and marketing strategy support, coordination of collaboration opportunities, which serve to facilitate such early-stage companies in accessing infrastructure, industry resources, and applicable policies). We provide companies with services from the formation of a start-up through later stages of corporate development, and we are dedicated to helping companies establish their presence in Hong Kong.

As of the date of this prospectus, we have established relationships with eight public blockchains (a decentralized and open network that allows anyone to participate, read, and write data without requiring permission from a central authority) and an affiliate of another public blockchain in the Web3 ecosystem, including Neo, Zetrix, Ton, Mango, and Plume.

In addition, we aim to create a dynamic ecosystem that connects enterprises, investors, and regulators through venues including policy forums (such as the co-hosted real-world assets (“RWA”) policy forum) and advisory reports, aiming to promote the integration of decentralized technologies with traditional industries. This vision drives our efforts to foster sustainable growth and global connectivity for Web3 enterprises.

In the face of global technological competition in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, we strive to stay at the forefront of the market and have a deep understanding of the needs and challenges of entrepreneurs in the Web3 ecosystem. We are dedicated to facilitating a legitimate, comprehensive, professional, and in-depth entrepreneurial environment in the Web3 economy.

Note: Net income and revenue are in U.S. dollars for the 12 months that ended Dec. 31, 2025.

(Note: Web3Labs Global Inc. filed its F-1 on May 13, 2026, for its IPO and disclosed the terms: 6.25 million shares at a price range of $4.00 to $5.00 to raise $28.13 million, if priced at the $4.50 mid-point of its range.)

Climate change and ESG are some recent flavours of the month for most new ETFs. Nevertheless, here are some new frontier and emerging market focused ETFs:

Frontier and emerging market highlights:

Check out our emerging market ETF lists, ADR lists (updated) and closed-end fund (updated) lists (also see our site map + list update status as most ETF lists are updated).

I have changed the front page of www.emergingmarketskeptic.com to mainly consist of links to other emerging market newspapers, investment firms, newsletters, blogs, podcasts and other helpful emerging market investing resources. The top menu includes links to other resources as well as a link to a general EM investing tips / advice feed e.g. links to specific and useful articles for EM investors.

Disclaimer. The information and views contained on this website and newsletter is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice and/or a recommendation. Your use of any content is entirely at your own risk and it is your sole responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness and usefulness of the content. Seek a duly licensed professional for any investment advice. I may have positions in the investments covered. This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any investment mentioned.

Emerging Market Links + The Week Ahead (September 7-11, 2026) was also published on our website under the Newsletter category.

Share

Share Emerging Market Skeptic

Leave a comment

Frontier & Emerging Market Stock Index

Emerging Market Skeptic (Website)

EM Stock Pick Tear Sheets

EM Fund Stock Picks

Stocktwits @EmergingMarketSkptc

Twitter @EmergingMrktSkp