The major news over the past week has been Alibaba’s record US$2.8 billion fine for engaging in anti-competitive behaviour. The Godzilla vs Kong blockbuster continues to do well in the box office, providing hope for an Asian cinema recovery. A few notable South Korean IPOs now in the pipeline: South Korea’s Internet Bank KakaoBank, EV battery maker LG Energy Solution and PUBG creator Krafton. Singaporean ride hailing company Grab is planning a US$34 billion US SPAC deal. Significant flare-ups in COVID-19 cases in Japan, India and the Philippines over the past few months and new lock-downs are instituted to deal with the problem. Vaccinations for the elderly in Japan will finally start on Monday. Meanwhile, many fear Tokyo Olympics in July will turn into a superspreader event.

Company-specific reports

• I wrote a report on Indonesian chocolate manufacturer Delfi (SGX:DELFI — US$392 million)

• Whitebox goes activist on LG Corp (KOSE: 003550 — US$14 billion)

• Hindenburg short report China-base crypto company Ebang (NASDAQ: EBON — US$854 million)

• Lillian Li deep-dive on Chinese video platform Bilibili (paywall) (NASDAQ: BILI — US$40 billion)

• Teddy Okuyama on Japanese software stocks Speee (JASDAQ: 4499 — US$328 million) and Firstlogic (TSE: 6037 — US$80 million)

Longreads

• JPMorgan’s Guide to the Markets 2Q21

• Exante Data on the attractiveness of central bank digital currencies vs Diem

• Kevin Tellier on China’s monetary policy, part 1 and part 2

• WSJ: China creates its own digital currency, a first for major economy (paywall)

• Professor Niall Ferguson: Don’t let China mint the money of the future

• Alex Turnbull on the weakness in PRC’s human capital stock

• New York Times: Surviving the crackdown in Xinjiang

• Semi-Literate on the automotive chip shortage

• Japanese megabanks on the defensive as Rakuten Internet bank accounts >10m

• US and Japan plan 'Belt and Road' alternative for Indo-Pacific

• China’s film authority orders all cinemas to screen propaganda films at least 2x/week

• US and Chinese carrier groups mass in the South China Sea

• The National Interest: Is China really plotting to invade Taiwan?

Podcasts and videos

• Business Breakdowns podcast episode on Alibaba (47 mins)

• Lillian Li on the bear case for Meituan (1:13 hours)

• Li Lu of Himalaya Capital interviewed by Bruce Greenwald (1:32 hours)

• Felix Zulauf on his broad macro views (Feb 2021 recording; 1:04 hours)

• Louis Gave discussing broad global macro trends, including the USD (59 mins)

• New York Times discussing Myanmar’s military (25 mins)

• The Economist on India’s second COVID-19 wave (21 mins)

• Wall Street Journal: Why China is jumping into digital currency (16 mins)

• Emily de la Bruyère: Why is China hiding its vaccine trial data? (24 mins)

• Analyse Asia on the merger between Indonesia’s Gojek and Tokopedia (39 mins)

• The Rachman Review: Are the US and China entering a cold war? (27 mins)

• YouTuber Caspian Report on the prospects of a Taiwan invasion by 2027 (15mins)

Chart of the week – MSCI Asia Ex-Japan EV/Sales

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