A positive piece of news is that Interactive Brokers has invested 15 billion Korean won — about US$100 million — in local brokerage firm Next Securities. This strongly suggests that Interactive Brokers will soon offer access to Korean equities for most of its global customers. You can find more information about the deal here.
Post of the week
Yesterday, I published a post on Indonesian equities. In my personal view, the Indonesian market is now one of the cheapest in Asia. And value investors are starting to get excited. Genuine growth stocks frequently trade at 10x P/E or even lower. The problem has been skepticism about new president Prabowo Subianto and expectations that the budget deficit will widen under the new administration. That said, for most companies, it will be business as usual. You can find my full post here.
Tweet of the week
Tidefall Capital’s Trevor Scott tweeted a quote from Fairfax India’s 2024 letter, stating that its key holding Bangalore International Airport’s revenue rose +46% year-on-year and EBITDA +57%. According to management, the airport is carried on the books at 10.1x normalized free cash flow. Meanwhile, the stock continues to trade at a discount to book. You can find the tweet here and the Fairfax India letter here.
Podcast episode of the week
The Bloomberg interview with Soros Fund Management’s CEO Dawn Fitzpatrick is worth highlighting. Her firm has been trading bonds on the long side recently, taking profits during rallies. It’s also made a tactical trade on Hong Kong equities and thinks there might be economic deals between the United States and China that would be favorable to Chinese equities. Meanwhile, Soros Fund Management has been reducing its exposure to private equity. On oil, she thinks a potential peace deal can bring up Russian oil production and put pressure on prices.
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