Emerging Market Links + The Week Ahead (June 29, 2026)

The Asset has reported that the fairly well known CLSA brand is to be retired 🗃️:

• So, Citic will ditch the CLSA brand in 2027, consigning to history probably the last remaining vestige of the legions of formerly independent British stockbrokers in Hong Kong. Citic clearly believes its target – “to become a leading domestic and internationally-renowned Chinese investment bank, trusted by clients around the world” – no longer needs the imprimatur of a Western brand. That’s probably a fair conclusion in today’s world.

And:

Though CLSA stands for Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia, reflecting its acquisition by the disgraced former French bank, CLSA’s roots go back to the London stockbrokers Alexander, Laing & Cruickshank, one of dozens of UK brokers that set up shop in colonial Hong Kong. A list that includes WI Carr, Vickers da Costa, Rowe & Pitman, James Capel, Hoare Govett, de Zoete & Bevan, Henderson Crosthwaite, Gilbert Elliott and many others; all long since acquired and brands retired.

CLSA has actually only been around for about 40 years. Nevertheless, its still a bit sad when old familiar brands or companies disappear. However, you could say this particular change reflects the growing confidence of Chinese companies/brands to no longer use Western brands as fronts and stand on their own names…

$ = behind a paywall

• 🇰🇷 Korean Stock Picks (March-May 2026) Partially $

  • May – ST Pharm, InBody, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Soulbrain, Komico Ltd, SoluM Co Ltd, HanAll Biopharma, Shinsegae International, Jeju Air, Misto Holdings Corp, Youngone Corp, Hansae Co Ltd, HD Hyundai Marine Solution, Korean Reinsurance Company, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, Daewoong Pharmaceutical, HMM, Classys, Vatech, Dentium, CJ Logistics, NCSoft Corp, Shinsegae Inc, Cosmax Inc, Wemade, SK Oceanplant Co Ltd, KT Corp, W-Scope Chungju Plant Co Ltd, Lotte Shopping Co Ltd, S-Oil Corp, Lotte Chemical, Shift Up Corp, KEPCO Engineering & Construction Co Inc, Neowiz, PharmaResearch Co Ltd, Seegene, GC Biopharma Corp, Hyundai Livart Furniture Co Ltd, Kolmar Korea, Cosmecca Korea, Kumho Petrochemical, LG Uplus, CS Wind Corp, GS Retail, BGF Retail, Netmarble Corp, Hugel, Dio Corp, SK Telecom, Hyundai Department Store Co Ltd, Vieworks, LG Electronics, Pan Ocean, GS Engineering & Construction Corp, Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co Ltd, Hanon Systems, POSCO Holdings, LX Hausys, LG H&H, F&F Co, DL E&C Co Ltd, L&F Co Ltd, BNK Financial Group, LG Energy Solution, Posco Future M Co Ltd & Posco International Corp

  • April – LG Chem, Samsung C&T Corp, Kiwoom Securities, Doosan Enerbility, Amorepacific Corp, LX International, Hanwha Solutions, iM Financial Group, Samsung SDI, Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co Ltd, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, i-SENS, Koh Young Technology, LG Innotek, Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai Steel Co, Kia Corp, Hotel Shilla, Hana Financial Group, Woori Financial Group, Hyundai Motor, OCI Holdings, KB Financial Group, Shinhan Financial Group, Hyundai Glovis, Krafton, Korean Air, JB Financial Group, Chunbo Co Ltd, APR Co Ltd, Samsung E&A & NH Investment & Securities

  • March – Samsung Life Insurance, KEPCO, KEPCO Plant Service & Engineering Co Ltd & People & Technology

  • 🤖 DeepSeek Summary/Analysis

    1. AI & Semiconductors – High Growth, High Volatility

    2. Batteries & Electric Vehicles – Anticipating a Cyclical Turnaround

    3. Traditional Industrials & Materials – Deep Value and High Dividends

    4. Gaming – Attractive Valuations with Clear Catalysts

    5. Other Noteworthy Themes

  • ⚠️ Important Risks Highlighted in the Report

  • Final Takeaway

• 🌐 EM Fund Stock Picks & Country Commentaries (June 28, 2026) Partially $

  • “Datacenters are the new shale oil,” Shenzhen transforms healthcare, Korea treasury share cancellations, Indian asset-management industry growth, frontier Africa, remaining May fund updates, etc. Contents

$ = 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

🇯🇵 Is it time to revisit 7-Eleven (TYO: 3382)? (KonichiValue Japan) $

• I recently wrote an article stating that Seven & I Holdings Co Ltd (TYO: 3382 / FRA: S6M / OTCMKTS: SVNDF) (7-Eleven’s parent company name) was one of the most likely buyout candidates in Japan. I must reiterate that nobody should ever buy a stock based purely on its buyout potential. If anyone can actually purchase this bloated conglomerate, it will likely be a Japanese company, as we just saw exactly what happens when a foreign entity attempts a hostile takeover.

• The stock got hammered by the failed Couche-Tard takeover bid, and is now trading around the 1,900 yen mark, or a drop of about 23% from their buyout-fueled peaks.

• If you ignore this M&A drama, Seven & i is basically a highly profitable Japanese convenience store chain tied to a struggling North American business. The fundamentals look really good, and it is definitely undervalued on today’s earnings, but is the future rosy enough to make this stock a buy?

🇯🇵 Kioxia Targets an ADS Listing in the U.S. In the Spring of 2027 – Implications (Douglas Research Insights) $

• On 25 June, Kioxia Holdings Corp (TYO: 285A / FRA: KI5 / OTCMKTS: KXHCF) announced that it plans to complete its ADS in the U.S. in the spring (around April to June) of 2027.

• The company is also considering a stock split on the local shares to make them more accessible to retail investors.

• Timing of the ADS offering (spring of 2027) suggests Kioxia is highly confident of its outlook next 9-12 months.

🇨🇳 China’s Fiscal Revenue Rises on Stock Boom but Spending Shrinks (Caixin) $

• China’s general public budget (GPB) revenue grew 6.6% year-on-year in May, buoyed by rising prices and steady economic growth, but GPB spending shrank for the second consecutive month, official data showed Monday.

🇨🇳 China Auditor Exposes Local Governments Faking Debt Cleanups (Caixin) $

• Some local governments in China have used deceptive tactics to mask billions of yuan in hidden debt, undermining Beijing’s sweeping campaign to defuse financial risks, the country’s top auditor revealed.

• While official data show all local governments’ hidden debt balances dropped to 10.5 trillion yuan ($1.5 trillion) by the end of 2024, the audit findings highlight Beijing’s persistent struggle to enforce financial discipline.

🇨🇳 Alibaba: Time To Bet Against Wall Street (Rating Downgrade) (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇨🇳 Alibaba Group: Qwen-Robot Triggers Full-Stack Physical AI Inflection Point; Reiterate BUY (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇨🇳 Alibaba: Technical Bottom Is Near – Diversified Commerce/Cloud Growth Prospects (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇨🇳 China is Cheap: PDD Stock Analysis (TheCatalyst)

• PDD Holdings (NASDAQ: PDD) or Pinduoduo is a multinational commerce company that owns and operates a portfolio of e-commerce businesses. The company’s mission is to bring more businesses and people into the digital economy, enabling local communities and small businesses to benefit from increased productivity and new opportunities.

• Instead of selling its own inventory, the company primarily operates as a third party marketplace and generates its revenue by charging merchants for online marketing and transaction services.

• PDD has its risks but the valuation is pricing it like a dying business and I don’t believe it is. PDD does have a competitive advantage in China but it remains to be seen if it will last. I would like to see the founder still involved but he still remains a big shareholder so that is a plus. It will be interesting to see how PDD evolves from 3P to 1P and if the investments pay off. The China risk is something to keep an eye on but as long as PDD isn’t cooking their books or committing some sort of fraud or gets a beyond terrible ROI on their investments and margins collapse then I don’t see how PDD doesn’t provide market-beating returns. NFA.

🇨🇳 NetEase: Multiples Will Rise As International Business Expands (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

• 🇨🇳 NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES) 🇰🇾 – Premium online services centered around content creation. Mobile & PC games. Majority-controlled subs. Youdao (NYSE: DAO), technology-focused intelligent learning company; Cloud Music (HKEX: 9899), online music content community; & Yanxuan, private label consumer lifestyle brand. 🇼 🏷️

🇨🇳 iQIYI’s RMB 6.2 Billion Quarter: Can Membership Growth Offset Ad Weakness? (Smartkarma) $

• iQIYI (NASDAQ: IQ) reported its financial and operational results for the first quarter of 2026, highlighting progress in its core streaming business alongside strategic initiatives in AI-driven content creation and international expansion.

• The company’s total revenue reached RMB 6.2 billion, marking an 8% sequential decline largely due to seasonality and reduced third-party content distribution.

• Membership services revenue increased 2% sequentially to RMB 4.2 billion, fueled by strong performance of premium domestic dramas such as The Punishment 2, Pursuit of Jade, and How Dare You!?, which resonated with the platform’s key young female demographic.

🇨🇳 Tencent (0700.HK): The Best Business Nobody Wants (Coughlin Cap)

• Tencent (HKG: 0700 / LON: 0LEA / FRA: NNND / SGX: HTCD / OTCMKTS: TCEHY) — $TCEHY $0700.HK

• Tencent is one of the best businesses in the world. I don’t think that’s a controversial thing to say.

• It runs WeChat, and calling it a messaging app really undersells what it is. People message on it, pay with it, hail rides, order food, book doctor appointments, run entire small businesses, all without ever leaving it. More than a billion people open it every single day.

• On top of that you’ve got the largest gaming business on the planet, an advertising machine that’s accelerating, a cloud and fintech arm, and a giant portfolio of stakes in other companies. The whole thing throws off enormous amounts of cash and earns very high returns on the capital it puts to work. This is about as high quality as large-cap tech gets, anywhere in the world.

• And the stock is sitting at 52-week lows. Down almost 40% from its October highs. Trading around ~12x forward earnings and ~9x EV/EBITDA.

🇨🇳 Tencent Music: Recent Strategic Moves Are Reshaping The Investment Case (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇨🇳 Weibo: A FCF Machine Trading Far Below Its Balance Sheet (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

• 🇨🇳 Weibo Corp (NASDAQ: WB) – Social media for people to create, share & discover content online. 🇼 🏷️

🇨🇳 Xunlei charms market with share buyback, as global business faces slowdown (Bamboo Works)

• The online video company will repurchase up to $20 million worth of its shares, as it sits on a cash pile and a major investment that combined are worth more than twice its market value

• Xunlei (NASDAQ: XNET) announced it will repurchase up to $20 million worth of its stock, sparking a one-day rally for the shares

• The company has found a major new engine in international livestreaming services, but warned that growth is likely to slow after a period of rapid expansion

🇨🇳 Dobot taps Shenzhen market to fund its bet on humanoid robots (Bamboo Works)

• The maker of robotic arms for industrial use is taking advantage of a new opportunity for mainland listings as it expands into the market for embodied AI

• Shenzhen Dobot Corp Ltd (HKG: 2432) aims to raise around $177 million on Shenzhen’s ChiNext, becoming the first Hong Kong-listed firm to raise capital under the new policy

• Price pressures are intensifying in its core market for collaborative robots, prompting the pursuit of new revenue from more advanced AI technology

🇨🇳 Andre Juice’s PCB gambit: A sweet pivot or a sour distraction? (Bamboo Works)

• The juice concentrate giant plans to pay up to 800 million yuan for a controlling stake of printed circuit board materials supplier Yongqiang Technology

• Yantai North Andre Juice Co Ltd (SHA: 605198 / HKG: 2218 / FRA: YNA1 / OTCMKTS: YNAJF) said it will acquire a controlling stake in Yongqiang Technology for 600 million to 800 million yuan, sparking a multi-day rally for its stock

• Yongqiang Technology recorded a net profit of 1.93 million yuan in this year’s first quarter, marking its first-ever quarter in the black

🇨🇳 Lenovo: The PC Cliff Is Becoming A Sideshow (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

• 🌐 Lenovo Group (HKG: 0992 / FRA: LHL / LHL1 / OTCMKTS: LNVGY / LNVGF) 🇭🇰 – Designing, manufacturing & marketing consumer electronics, PCs, software, servers, converged & hyperconverged infrastructure solutions, etc. 🇼 🏷️

🇨🇳 GDS Holding: A Sum-Of-The-Parts Opportunity With AI As The Growth Engine (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇨🇳 NIO: Delivery Run Is Getting Hard To Ignore (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇨🇳 NIO Nears Technical Bottom: SUV Drives Higher Deliveries And Richer Margins (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇨🇳 Wall Street renaissance for China stocks? DSC listing offers mixed picture (Bamboo Works)

• Shares of the owner of an operating system used by more than half of China’s used car dealers lost nearly half their value in their first trading day on the Nasdaq

• DSC Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ: DSC) raised about $50 million in its Nasdaq IPO this week, making it one of the largest new listings by a Chinese company on Wall Street in more than a year

• The company’s stock fell 47% on its first trading day, as investors balked at its aggressive pricing and stalling growth in China’s sputtering car market

🇨🇳 DSC Holdings (DSC): Small Float, a Big Anchor, and Plenty of Questions (Smartkarma) $

• DSC Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ: DSC) claims over 90% market share in operating systems for China’s used-car dealers, providing software, AI applications, and transaction services across the ecosystem.

• Revenue declined sharply in 2025, although gross profit remained relatively resilient and net losses narrowed year-over-year.

• China exposure, a concentrated anchor order, and limited float size may result in heightened scrutiny and potentially volatile aftermarket trading.

🇨🇳 DSC Holdings (DSC): IPO Skids Off the Road in First Trading Session (Smartkarma) $

• DSC Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ: DSC) priced at $17.00, opened below issue price at $16.00, and closed at $9.06 after a volatile session marked by multiple trading halts.

• Investor demand appeared weak from the outset, with little evidence of underwriter support as shares fell nearly 50% intraday.

• China exposure, a large anchor order, and limited institutional participation contributed to one of the weakest IPO debuts of the year.

🇨🇳 Uxin Limited: Impacted By Industry Weakness (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇨🇳 A Net-Cash Compounder at ~4x Ex-Cash Earnings (Kubang Pasu Capital) $

🇨🇳 Trip.com Q1: Not Asymmetrical Enough (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇨🇳 The Sold-Out Air Conditioner Factory Quietly Building a Global Robotics Empire (BlackwoodResearch)

• This isn’t just a temporary weather anomaly; it is a massive logistics sprint. Midea Group (SHE: 000333 / HKG: 0300 / FRA: 1520 / OTCMKTS: MGCOF)’s factories in Guangdong are working around the clock to rush inventory to Europe via freight trains. In regions with historically low air conditioner penetration, specifically Germany, France, Spain, and the UK, Midea’s sales have skyrocketed, posting a year-on-year increase of more than 70 percent.

• In most professional investing circles, mention Midea and you’ll get a shrug. Most investors simply see a massive, low-margin Chinese appliance maker and stop reading. That is exactly why it fits the Unusual Stocks profile. The ones who kept reading would find a company that has quietly become one of the largest industrial robotics players on earth, a controlling shareholder in a Toshiba elevator business, and the single biggest beneficiary of a continent that just discovered it needs air conditioning.

🇨🇳 CSPC Innovation pursues Hong Kong IPO as parent profits shrink (Bamboo Works)

(CSPC Innovation Pharmaceutical Co Ltd (SHE: 300765))

• The producer of food additives and pharmaceutical ingredients is aiming to raise fresh capital to support its drive to become a developer of innovative drugs

• R&D costs have been soaring since the firm bought a controlling stake in drug developer Megalith Biopharmaceutical, reaching nearly 50% of revenue in 2025

• Meanwhile, profit pressures at the CSPC parent have capped the amount available to support drug research at group companies

🇨🇳 China Readies Fresh $9 Billion Consumer Stimulus as Retail Sales Shrink (Caixin) $

• China will inject a fresh 62.5 billion yuan ($9.2 billion) into consumer trade-in subsidies by the end of June as the government battles the first contraction in retail sales since 2023.

• The new funding arrives as a three-year stimulus campaign designed to revive domestic consumption shows mounting signs of exhaustion. The 2026 program has been scaled back to 250 billion yuan — down from 300 billion yuan in 2025 — and narrowed to focus on specific items like cars, appliances and smart glasses, signaling a gradual phase-out of the subsidies.

🇨🇳 Luckin Coffee: Continued Deterioration Likely As Store Growth Overload Continues (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇨🇳 Evergrande Property Services Stake Sale Collapses, Sending Shares Down 24% (Caixin) $

• Talks to sell a controlling stake in Evergrande Property Services Group Ltd. have collapsed after liquidators of its bankrupt parent, China Evergrande Group, failed to reach a formal agreement with a prospective buyer.

• The property-management firm announced the termination of negotiations midday Thursday, sending its Hong Kong-listed shares down 23.5% to close at HK$0.78 ($0.1).

🇨🇳 Yiren Digital Ltd. 2026 Q1 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (Seeking Alpha)

🇨🇳 Audit Finds Major Banks Mismanaged Billions in Tech Loans (Caixin) $

• China’s top auditor has reprimanded four major commercial banks for mismanaging technology-focused lending programs, highlighting a persistent disconnect between Beijing’s push to fund strategic innovation and the ingrained risk aversion of state-backed lenders.

• Presenting an audit of the 2025 central budget to the National People’s Congress Standing Committee on Tuesday, Auditor General Hou Kai said the tailored financial products offered by the banks failed to meet the urgent needs of innovative enterprises.

🇨🇳 China Auditor Accuses Bank of China of $348 Million Tax Evasion (Caixin) $

• China’s state auditor has accused Bank of China (SHA: 601988 / HKG: 3988 / SGX: HBND / OTCMKTS: BACHY / BACHF) of evading 2.37 billion yuan ($348 million) in taxes, a rare public rebuke that signals tightening scrutiny over a widely exploited industry loophole.

• In a report released Tuesday, the National Audit Office revealed that between April 2023 and August 2025, BOC used affiliates to repackage 11 private funds into tax-exempt mutual funds. The lender is one of China’s “Big Four” state-owned commercial banks.

🇨🇳 Waterdrop creatively posts big revenue growth, but at massive cost (Bamboo Works)

• The online insurance broker’s new technical services business boomed in the first quarter, but soaring user acquisition costs caused its profit to fall

• Waterdrop (NYSE: WDH)’s revenue surged 65% in the first quarter, almost entirely driven by a new technical services income category

• The online insurance broker’s expenses also swelled during the quarter, as it spent heavily to boost traffic on its platform

🇨🇳 Jiayin: Focus On Disappointing Results And Worrying Guidance (Rating Downgrade) (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇨🇳 JinkoSolar Is Deeply Undervalued, The Industry Now Needs To Act (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇨🇳 Anker Innovations H Share Listing (668 HK): Valuation Insights (Smartkarma) $

🇭🇰 Hong Kong Targets Global No. 2 Spot With $41 Billion IPO Boom (Caixin) $

• Hong Kong’s initial public offering market is projected to raise HK$320 billion ($40.8 billion) in 2026, positioning the city as the world’s second-largest listing venue behind Nasdaq.

• The robust forecast from Ernst & Young (EY) follows a strong first half where fundraising surged 92% year-on-year to HK$209.8 billion across 84 deals. More than 420 prospective candidates are currently waiting to list, driven by an influx of mainland Chinese technology firms seeking offshore capital.

🇭🇰 CLSA brand to be retired: strategic redundancy amid changing times? (The Asset) 🗃️

• Last vestige of former independent broking culture written out of the story

• So, Citic will ditch the CLSA brand in 2027, consigning to history probably the last remaining vestige of the legions of formerly independent British stockbrokers in Hong Kong. Citic clearly believes its target – “to become a leading domestic and internationally-renowned Chinese investment bank, trusted by clients around the world” – no longer needs the imprimatur of a Western brand. That’s probably a fair conclusion in today’s world.

• Though CLSA stands for Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia, reflecting its acquisition by the disgraced former French bank, CLSA’s roots go back to the London stockbrokers Alexander, Laing & Cruickshank, one of dozens of UK brokers that set up shop in colonial Hong Kong. A list that includes WI Carr, Vickers da Costa, Rowe & Pitman, James Capel, Hoare Govett, de Zoete & Bevan, Henderson Crosthwaite, Gilbert Elliott and many others; all long since acquired and brands retired.

🇭🇰 Roma Green Finance: A $1.5 Million Revenue Company With A Massive Valuation Problem (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

• 🌐 Roma Green Finance Ltd (NASDAQ: ROMA) 🇰🇾 – Provision of environmental, social and governance, sustainability & climate change related advisory services.

🇭🇰 Century Ent estimates new gaming expansion in the Philippines generated 2Q winnings of US$5.7mln (GGRAsia)

• Century Entertainment International Holdings Ltd (HKG: 0959) has estimated pre-tax net winnings of at least HKD45 million (US$5.7 million) from its latest gaming rollout in the Philippines.

• The gaming technology firm said the winnings came from its “Phase IV” product deployment and covered the April-to-June 2026 period, after it introduced 27 games across seven gaming venue operators in the country.

• In an update on Thursday, Century Entertainment said the winnings estimate, related to its joint venture Konphil Technology Company Ltd, reflected a “ramp-up” in operations.

🇲🇴 MS cuts 2026 Macau GGR forecast and industry EBITDA estimate, on weak growth up to 4Q (GGRAsia)

• Banking group Morgan Stanley has cut its estimate for Macau’s full-year 2026 gross gaming revenue (GGR). It now expects annual GGR to be circa MOP260.6 billion (US$32.3 billion) compared to 2025’s MOP247.40 billion.

• Analysts Praveen Choudhary and Stephen Grambling said in a Sunday note: “We expect 2026 GGR to grow by 5.3 percent year-on-year, below consensus expectations of 6 percent.” Morgan Stanley’s previous GGR growth forecast was also set at 6 percent.

• They added, referring to their latest estimate: “Our forecasts imply quarterly GGR growth of only 2 percent to 3 percent year-on-year through fourth-quarter 2026.

• “That said, June and July could see slowdowns related to the (FIFA) World Cup and might even post a negative year-on-year growth number.”

🇲🇴 Observed Macau premium mass bets at ‘post-pandemic low’ in Citi’s June survey, amid FIFA World Cup (GGRAsia)

• Total wager observed in banking group Citi’s latest monthly survey of Macau premium mass table gambling “fell to a post-pandemic low” of HKD9.8 million (nearly US$1.3 million), said the institution’s analysts George Choi and Timothy Chau in a Sunday memo.

• That amount was 38-percent lower versus June 2025, while the number of premium mass players observed amounted to 448, i.e., 29-percent fewer year-on-year.

• “We attribute the year-on-year weakness to the ongoing (FIFA) World Cup (2026),” being held in the United States, Mexico and Canada, observed the analysts. The tournament started on June 11, with the final to be held on July 19, U.S. time.

🇲🇴 Asset manager Pzena ups stake in casino firm Galaxy Ent via US$112mln share buys (GGRAsia)

• United States-based Pzena Investment Management LLC has spent HKD879.77 million (US$112.22 million) to increase its long position in Hong Kong-listed Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment (HKG: 0027 / OTCMKTS: GXYEF), via two recent transactions.

• That is according to shareholding disclosures filed with the Hong Kong bourse. Pzena is deemed a substantial shareholder in Galaxy Entertainment.

🇲🇴 LVS, MGM Resorts, Galaxy Ent and Aristocrat all make Forbes’ latest ‘Global 2000’ list (GGRAsia)

• Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) leads the rankings among four companies with interests in the Asia-Pacific casino gaming sector that appear in Forbes’ ‘24th Annual Global 2000’ list.

• The four appear under the heading ‘Hotels, restaurants and leisure’.

• The list, publicised in a Thursday press release, is described as a “definitive” ranking of the world’s largest public companies determined by sales, profits, assets, and market value, with all figures in U.S. dollars.

🇲🇴 Paradise Ent says a subsidiary now recognised in Singapore as an approved manufacturer (GGRAsia)

• Hong Kong-listed Paradise Entertainment Ltd (HKG: 1180 / FRA: LIL3 / OTCMKTS: PDSSF) said via a Thursday announcement that a subsidiary now has approved-manufacturer status under Singapore’s Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA).

• Paradise Entertainment – the parent of Macau-based electronic casino games specialist LT Game Ltd – said the GRA approval is for a subsidiary called LT Smart (Singapore) Pte Ltd. Per the regulator’s website, the approval is under the Casino Control Act 2006.

🇹🇼 First Financial Holding Co., Ltd. (FFHMY) Presents at Goldman Sachs Asia Financials Corporate Day – Slideshow (Seeking Alpha)

🇹🇼 Taiwan Semiconductor: The AI Toll Road Keeps Widening (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇰🇷 South Korea delays plan for new single-stock options amid record volatility (FT) $ 🗃️

• Concerns grow of frothiness in world’s best-performing equity market

• South Korea’s main stock exchange has delayed the launch of weekly options tied to single stocks, in a sign of growing concern about frothiness in the world’s best-performing equity market this year.

• The Korea Exchange had planned to launch contracts linked to four of the country’s largest companies — chipmakers Samsung Electronics (KRX: 005930 / 005935 / LON: BC94 / FRA: SSUN / OTCMKTS: SSNLF) and SK Hynix (KRX: 000660), carmaker Hyundai Motor (KRX: 005380 / FRA: HYU / OTCMKTS: HYMTF) and battery producer LG Energy Solution (KRX: 373220) — on June 29.

🇰🇷 NPS: Net Seller of Korean Stocks in the Past Month (What Is It Buying and Selling?) (Douglas Research Insights) $

🇰🇷 Dongsung FineTec (033500): the market is pricing peak. The order book says otherwise. (Numbers not Narrative)

• A ~₩550bn cryogenic-insulation maker trading at under 9× earnings, with a 25% ROE, net cash, and three years of revenue already signed. The bears have a real point — it’s just not the point the share

• Dongsung Finetec Co Ltd (KOSDAQ: 033500) makes the insulation that holds liquefied natural gas at minus 163 degrees inside the cargo holds of LNG carriers. That’s the franchise. About 96% of revenue is one thing — polyurethane cryogenic insulation (reinforced foam, panels, membrane sheet) sold to shipyards. A small refrigerant-trading arm is the other 4%: a rounding error with some optionality bolted on.

• So, plainly: Dongsung is a toll booth on the LNG construction bridge. Real barriers — qualification, switching costs, safety lock-in. No pricing power over its customers (three Korean shipbuilders that are its order book) or over GTT (which keeps the IP rent). Good economics while traffic is heavy; no leverage over whoever sets the toll. That tension is the entire bull-and-bear axis.

🇰🇷 SK Hynix – A Homerun Investment in Kioxia (Douglas Research Insights) $

• In 2018, SK Hynix (KRX: 000660) invested 2.5 trillion won in Bain Capital consortium that invested in Kioxia and an additional 1.2 trillion won in Kioxia convertible bonds, totaling 3.7 trillion won.

• SK Hynix has hit a huge homerun with its investment in Kioxia Holdings Corp (TYO: 285A / FRA: KI5 / OTCMKTS: KXHCF). SK Hynix’s investment in Kioxia has surged by more than 32x its original investment in eight years.

• SK Hynix’s stake in Kioxia is now worth nearly US$79 billion (121 trillion won), representing 5.8% of SK Hynix’s current market cap (2,080 trillion won).

🇰🇷 SK Hynix – ADR Listing on 10 July (Douglas Research Insights) $

• It has been confirmed that SK Hynix (KRX: 000660) plans to complete its ADR listing on the NASDAQ exchange on 10 July.

• Estimated issuance price is 2,555,000 won per share and the company projects total proceeds of 45.5 trillion won (US$29.4 billion) (2.5% of outstanding shares).

• The currently stated issuance price is for reference only and does not represent the actual final issuance price.

🇰🇷 Samsung Electronics: Expectation of a Massive Share Buyback Announcement in the Next Few Weeks (Douglas Research Insights) $

• There is a growing expectation of a massive share buyback by Samsung Electronics (KRX: 005930 / 005935 / LON: BC94 / FRA: SSUN / OTCMKTS: SSNLF) in the coming weeks.

• In this insight, I discuss the likelihood, reasons for the buyback, potential size amount, and the impact on the ordinary vs preferred shares price differential.

• In my view, the potential buyback size amount could about 90 trillion won to 110 trillion won over the next three years.

🇰🇷 ChosunBiz’s Article on SK Hynix – Glass Half Empty or Glass Half Full? (Douglas Research Insights) $

• This insight provides negative and positive implications of a recent article by Chosun Business Daily on SK Hynix (KRX: 000660).

• In the next several months, there could be heightened concerns about whether or not Nvidia’s Rubin chips (equipped with HBM4) could be slowing down.

• If there are confirming signs that the demand for these products are slowing down, there could be harsher trading days ahead for these companies in the rest of 2026.

🇰🇷 An Updated SoTP Valuation Analysis of SK Inc: 2026 High Conviction Idea (Douglas Research Insights) $

• In this insight, I provide an updated SoTP valuation analysis of SK Inc (KRX: 034730 / 03473K) which I proposed as my 2026 High Conviction Idea on 4 December 2025.

• My updated sum-of-the parts (SoTP) analysis of SK Inc suggests implied NAV per share of 1,306,335 won per share which represents a 52% upside from current levels.

• The biggest change in the valuation of SK Inc is its 32.1% stake in SK Square (KRX: 402340) which is now worth 80.4 trillion won.

🇮🇩 Selamat Sempurna (SMSM IJ): The Boring Business Quietly Powering AI and The Future, Why Selamat Sempurna May Be a Long-Term Winner and a Beneficiary of Indonesia’s New Biodiesel Regulations (Tiger Thesis)

• So to sum it all up:

  • Construction, tech related mining → Oil Filters

  • Southeast Asian industrialization → Air Filters

• Both lead to the same thing: growing demand for filtration products.

• That’s where i think Selamat Sempurna Tbk PT (IDX: SMSM / OTCMKTS: SMSPF) comes in.

• This is where Selamat Sempurna stands out. The company manufactures both automotive and industrial filtration products and offers one of the broadest product portfolios in the market, with more than 7,000 part numbers.

• Importantly, the business is not heavily reliant on passenger vehicles, which is the part where people missunderstood Selamat Sempurna the most. Roughly two-thirds of filter sales are actually generated from heavy-duty and industrial applications, including trucks, mining equipment, construction machinery, agricultural equipment, and other commercial uses.

🇵🇭 Asian Dividend Gems: Maynilad Water Services (Asian Dividend Stocks)

• While the Asian stock markets have been mostly focused on the top-tier semiconductor stocks in the past year, many high quality, dividend yielding stocks have been increasingly ignored.

• One of them has been Maynilad Water Services (PSE: MYNLD) which is one of the largest water and wastewater utilities in the Philippines.

• Maynilad Water enjoys an excellent barriers to entry, high EBIT margins (nearly 60%), solid dividend yields (5.6%), and attractive valuations (P/E of 8.4x, P/B of 1.5x, and EV/EBITDA of 8.8x).

🇵🇭 Gokongwei’s planned US$33mln backing for PhilWeb to help it in gaming tech AI: Brian Ng (GGRAsia)

• Philippines-listed gaming technology provider PhilWeb Corp (PSE: WEB) confirmed in a Wednesday filing a circa PHP2.03 billion (nearly US$33.0 million) deal that will see entrepreneur Lance Gokongwei take initially a 10.0 percent stake in the firm’s issued and outstanding common stock.

• If a total of just over 93.8-million redeemable preferred shares of PhilWeb are fully exercised, Mr Gokonwei’s interest in PhilWeb’s total issued and outstanding common shares will rise to approximately 15 percent, according to the filing.

• PhilWeb said in the update to the Philippine Stock Exchange that the transaction “is intended to support the company’s capital raising initiatives and related corporate initiatives”.

• Mr Gokongwei is president and chief executive of JG Summit Holdings (PSE: JGSHI / OTCMKTS: JGSHF / JGSMY), one of the Philippines’ largest conglomerates, which controls a number of brands such as Robinsons Land (PSE: RLC / OTCMKTS: RBLAY / RBLAF), Universal Robina Corporation (PSE: URC / OTCMKTS: UVRBY / UVRBF), and the air carrier Cebu Pacific. NUSTAR Resort & Casino, on Cebu in the Philippines, is owned and operated by Universal Hotels and Resorts Inc, which is a privately-owned company by the Gokongwei family.

🇵🇭 Inflation, lack of VIP punters to keep Philippines land-based gaming pressured in 2H 2026: Maybank (GGRAsia)

• Maybank Investment Bank has outlined economic factors that might “pressure” the Philippine gaming industry in the second half this year.

• Maybank stated in a memo on Wednesday that “brick-and-mortar casinos face steep headwinds due to inflation, high utility costs cannibalising disposable income, and a lack of VIP high-rollers tied to slower-than-expected tourism growth.”

• The Philippines reported in April that first-quarter foreign visitor arrivals were up 2.6 percent year-on-year, to circa 1.76 million, spurred by growth in most key markets except South Korea and China.

🇵🇭 GCash, Philippine’s fintech unicorn, inches closer to IPO (The Asset) 🗃️

• Listing of superapp with 81 million users delayed over past few years due to market volatility

• After years of teasing its potential listing, Mynt, the company behind Philippine fintech giant GCash, has indicated that it is ready to go public, soon.

• Mynt announced on Wednesday that its board of directors has greenlit the filing of a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ). The board also approved GCash’s listing application with the Philippine Stock Exchange ( PSE ) in connection with a potential initial public offering ( IPO ).

• In a statement announcing the development, Mynt says it is looking to sell an equivalent of 12% of its total outstanding capital stock through a combination of both primary and secondary shares, with each common share having a par value of 3 Philippine centavos per common share.

• Likewise, Globe Telecom (PSE: GLO / GLOPP / OTCMKTS: GTMEY / GTMEF), Mynt notes, has made a similar disclosure, “in accordance with corporate governance standards and pertinent disclosure rules and regulations”.

🇸🇬 Grab: Impact Brought By The Earnings Cap To Be Offset By Other Segments (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇸🇬 Grab’s Technical Support Breached – Selloff Triggers Dip Buying Opportunity (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇸🇬 Karooooo: Good Growth, Real Cash Flow, And A Fair Multiple (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

• 🇸🇬 🇿🇦 Karooooo (NASDAQ: KARO / JSE: KRO) – Leading provider of an on-the-ground operations cloud that maximizes the value of data. The Cartrack SaaS platform provides insightful real-time data analytics & business intelligence reports. 🏷️

🇸🇬 Sea Limited: Is Shopee VIP Its Prime Moment? (Slow Compounding)

(Sea Limited (NYSE: SE))

• The membership flywheel investors have seen before.

• The right question is not whether Shopee VIP will become as important as Amazon Prime. That is unknowable and probably too ambitious as a direct comparison. The better question is whether Shopee VIP can change the slope of Shopee’s frequency, loyalty, fulfillment, and monetization curve.

• If it can, the market may be looking at Sea’s reinvestment cycle from the wrong angle.

• What looks like lower margins today may eventually prove to be the cost of building a more durable and more profitable platform.

🇸🇬 A Microcap Growing 100% a Year, Trading at 11x Earnings (Stone Mountain Research) $

(🇸🇬 Lum Chang Creations (SGX: LCC) – Urban revitalisation specialist. niche conservation & restoration works + interior fit-out & addition & alteration (A&A) capabilities. 🏷️)

• I sorted through 10,000 microcaps to find this one.

• It looks ordinary at a glance. The financials are anything but.

  • Revenue has compounded at roughly 100% a year since 2022, up 93% in the latest fiscal year alone.

  • Net income tripled year on year, then doubled again in the latest half.

  • Net margin reached 20% last half, in an industry where the typical operator earns 2 to 6%.

  • Return on equity is over 70%. Not a typo.

  • Net cash on the balance sheet, no meaningful debt, and free cash flow that funds the dividend with room to spare.

  • Forward dividend yield near 6%.

  • It trades at about 11x forward earnings, roughly in line with far lower-quality peers.

  • The founder-CEO locked up his entire 13% stake for 10 years at the IPO, an unusually long vote of confidence.

🇸🇬 Top Stock Market Highlights of the Week: Foundation Healthcare, First REIT, StarHub, OUE REIT and Frasers Property (The Smart Investor)

• We look at a Temasek-backed healthcare provider’s mainboard listing plans, two REITs recycling capital through major divestments, a leadership transition at one of Singapore’s telcos, and a property group’s S$2.1 billion hospitality restructuring.

  • Private Healthcare Group Plans Singapore Mainboard Listing

    • Foundation Healthcare Holdings lodged a preliminary prospectus on Monday, 22 June 2026, for a mainboard listing on the Singapore Exchange.

    • The private healthcare provider, which operates 74 specialist clinics across 16 medical specialities in Singapore, is backed by Temasek’s investment firm SeaTown Holdings.

  • Healthcare Trust Sells Entire Indonesia Portfolio for Capital Recycling

    • First Real Estate Investment Trust (SGX: AW9U / OTCMKTS: FESNF), Singapore’s first listed healthcare REIT, has proposed divesting its entire Indonesia portfolio for around S$471.5 million, a 2.1% premium over the average of two independent valuations.

    • Eight hospitals will be sold to long-term tenant PT Siloam International Hospitals for roughly S$389.2 million, with three non-core assets going to PT Lippo Karawaci and an affiliate for a combined S$82.4 million.

  • Local Telecom Operator Announces Major Leadership Transition Plan

    • Telecommunications operator StarHub (SGX: CC3 / FRA: RYTB / OTCMKTS: SRHBY / SRHBF) announced in a bourse filing on Wednesday, 24 June 2026, that Deputy CEO Matthew Williams will succeed Nikhil Eapen as chief executive, effective 1 January 2027.

  • Hospitality Trust Sells Changi Airport Hotel for Millions

    • OUE Real Estate Investment Trust (SGX: TS0U / OTCMKTS: OUECF) is set to sell the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport hotel for S$500 million to a joint venture between Tokyo Century and sponsor OUE Ltd, in a distribution-accretive deal announced on Thursday (25 June 2026).

  • Developer Restructures Massive Hospitality Portfolio to Lighten Balance Sheet

    • Frasers Property Ltd (SGX: TQ5 / FRA: 1IQ) is undertaking a S$2.1 billion “optimisation” of the hospitality portfolio inherited from its 2025 privatisation of Frasers Hospitality Trust.

    • As part of the plan, the developer will sell its 63% stake in five properties — including hotels in Singapore and Japan, worth S$1.1 billion (US$848 million) — to an investment firm owned by the five children of Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, whose family controls the bulk of Frasers’ shares.

🇸🇬 2 Stocks That Are Smashing New All-Time Highs This Year (The Smart Investor)

• Record-breaking share prices have put these two Singapore stocks in focus, but business fundamentals will determine whether the momentum can continue.

  • DBS Group (SGX: D05 / FRA: DEVL / DEV / OTCMKTS: DBSDY / DBSDF)

    • DBS opened 2026 at a record high, and the operational momentum has largely kept pace.

    • Total income for the first quarter scaled to an unprecedented S$5.95 billion – the highest single-quarter performance the bank has ever recorded.

  • United Overseas Bank (SGX: U11 / FRA: UOB / UOB0 / OTCMKTS: UOVEY / UOVEF)

    • While its peer tests historical ceilings, United Overseas Bank (UOB) has experienced a slightly different trajectory.

    • The bank hit its record high of S$40.07 on 25 June 2026, as the market digests its first-quarter (1Q2026) financial performance.

  • Get Smart: Handovers and Integration Hold the Key

🇸🇬 3 Singapore Dividend Stocks Paying Over 5% in June 2026 (The Smart Investor)

• A high dividend yield can provide a welcome boost to your passive income. Here are three Singapore-listed stocks yielding more than 5% that income investors may want to keep on their watchlists this June.

  • What Makes a Good Dividend Stock?

  • ComfortDelGro Corporation (SGX: C52 / FRA: VZ1 / VZ10 / OTCMKTS: CDGLF / CDGLY) – The Recovery Dividend Story

  • Keppel REIT (SGX: K71U / OTCMKTS: KREVF) – The Office Income Play

  • NetLink NBN Trust (SGX: CJLU / OTCMKTS: NETLF) – The Infrastructure Income Generator

    • NetLink NBN Trust is responsible for managing and maintaining the fibre broadband network infrastructure that underpins Singapore’s telecommunications backbone.

    • The trust’s defensive business model continued to deliver steady results in FY2026.

    • Which Stock Looks Most Attractive?

  • Get Smart: Don’t Chase Yield Blindly

🇸🇬 July 2026 Watchlist: 3 Blue-Chip Stocks to Watch (The Smart Investor)

• Three Singapore blue chips report this July, and each carries a gap between its headline number and what is really happening underneath. Here is what dividend investors should watch when Seatrium, Keppel and Singapore Airlines update the market.

  • Seatrium: can the momentum hold?

    • Seatrium Ltd (SGX: SE2 / FRA: S8N / OTCMKTS: SMBMF) goes into its next update with the clearest run of form.

    • For the full year ended 31 December 2025, revenue rose 24.3% year on year (YoY) to S$11.5 billion.

    • Profit attributable to owners more than doubled to S$323.6 million, up from S$156.8 million a year ago.

    • The improvement came from stronger project execution, lower overheads and a larger share of profit from associates.

  • Keppel: testing the asset-light pivot

    • Keppel Ltd (SGX: BN4 / FRA: KEP / KEP1 /OTCMKTS: KPELY / KPELF) is partway through reshaping itself into an asset-light global asset manager and operator.

    • Its first-quarter update in 2026 (1Q2026) was a voluntary one, so the group did not disclose revenue, profit or free cash flow figures.

    • What it did share points to steady progress.

  • Singapore Airlines: strong engines, rising headwinds

    • Singapore Airlines (SGX: C6L / FRA: SIA1 / OTCMKTS: SINGY / SINGF), or SIA, presents the widest gap between headline and substance.

    • For the fiscal year ended 31 March 2026 (FY2025/2026), net profit plunged 57.4% YoY to S$1.2 billion.

    • The number looks alarming on its own, but it is not the full picture.

  • Get Smart: watch the gap, not the headline

🇸🇬 IPO Hunter’s Guide: Should You Add These 2026 Newcomers to Your Watchlist? (The Smart Investor)

• IPOs can be exciting. They offer investors a chance to buy into a company early, but they can also be risky and overhyped.

  • Why Investors Are Drawn to IPOs

  • The Risks of Buying Newly Listed Companies

  • Meet the 2026 Newcomers

    • Toku Ltd (SGX: TKU) — The Growth Challenger

      • TOKU went public in January 2026, setting its IPO price at S$0.25 per share.

      • Demand for AI automation and customer engagement tools keeps surging, especially in Asia Pacific, fuelling its growth.

    • JustCo Holdings (SGX: JCO) — The Profitable Disruptor

      • Listed in May 2026 at an IPO price of S$0.94 per share, JustCo is one of Asia Pacific’s largest flexible workspace operators, with 54 centres across 12 cities.

      • Backed by GIC and Frasers Property Ltd (SGX: TQ5 / FRA: 1IQ), JustCo is eyeing more than 100 centres by 2029.

    • UI Boustead REIT (SGX: UIBU) — The Income Play

  • The IPO Investor’s Checklist

  • Should You Buy Immediately or Wait?

  • Lessons From Past IPOs

  • Get Smart: Treat IPOs Like Businesses, Not Lottery Tickets

🇸🇬 Beyond STI: 3 Small-Cap Stocks Rewarding Dividend Investors Before July (The Smart Investor)

• Three small-cap dividends land in accounts this June. Only one is backed by both profit growth and cash flow. Here’s how LHN, Straits Trading and Yeo Hiap Seng stack up.

  • Is LHN Ltd (SGX: 41O / HKG: 1730)’s dividend built on solid ground?

    • LHN is a real estate management services group specialising in space optimisation, with operations across Singapore, Indonesia, Myanmar and Cambodia.

    • For the first half of fiscal 2026 ending 31 March 2026 (1HFY2026), revenue dipped 13.7% year on year (YoY) to S$60.9 million.

    • The fall came from the absence of property development revenue, which contributed S$12.1 million a year ago.

  • Can Straits Trading Company (SGX: S20 / FRA: W2F / OTCMKTS: SSTVF / STTSY) pay a dividend while reporting a loss?

    • Straits Trading, or STC, is a conglomerate with interests in resources, real estate and hospitality.

    • For FY2025, revenue rose 10.4% YoY to S$623.3 million on higher tin prices, a stronger Malaysian Ringgit, and the opening of Crowne Plaza Penang Straits City.

  • Where is Yeo Hiap Seng Ltd (SGX: Y03)’s dividend really coming from?

    • YHS has sold Asian beverages for more than 100 years under brands such as YEO’S and H-TWO-O.

    • For FY2025, revenue declined 11% YoY to S$292.4 million on weaker consumer spending and intensified competition.

    • Net profit more than tripled to S$21.1 million.

    • The lift came almost entirely from a S$40.9 million fair value gain on its Guangzhou property following a 50-year land lease extension.

  • Get Smart: An unchanged dividend is not an unchallenged dividend

🇸🇬 3 Hidden Gem Dividend Stocks to Fund Your Retirement (The Smart Investor)

🇸🇬 How to Build a Monthly Passive Income Portfolio with Singapore Dividend Stocks (The Smart Investor)

🇸🇬 Blue-Chip REITs to Boost Your Retirement Income (The Smart Investor)

🇸🇬 AEM vs UMS vs Frencken: The Ultimate 2026 Singapore Semiconductor Showdown (The Smart Investor)

• Singapore’s semiconductor industry is enjoying renewed attention thanks to AI, advanced computing, and a recovery in chip demand. But among AEM, UMS, and Frencken, which stock offers the best combination of growth, resilience, and long-term upside?

  • Why Semiconductor Stocks Are Back in Focus

  • Meet the Contenders

    • AEM Holdings (SGX: AWX) plays a pivotal role through its testing solutions that help chipmakers test chips faster and at lower cost. Its technology reduces the time and capital required to validate chips before they reach end markets.

    • Originally, AEM relied only on Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) as its anchor customer.

    • But AEM has been making inroads in diversifying its customer base.

    • UMS Integration Ltd (SGX: 558 / OTCMKTS: UMSSF)’s operational consistency has translated into stable earnings, with the group having reported positive earnings over the last decade, which are duly returned to shareholders via consistent dividends.

    • Finally, besides the semiconductor segment, Frencken Group Ltd (SGX: E28) also has industrial, medical, and analytical instrumentation customers.

  • Growth Potential: Who Has the Longest Runway?

  • Business Quality Showdown

  • Dividend Battle

  • Risk Assessment

  • Which Stock Fits Your Investing Style?

  • Get Smart: There Is No One-Size-Fits-All Winner

🇸🇬 Connecting Asia’s Digital Future: An Interview with Singtel’s Arthur Lang (The Smart Investor)

• In this exclusive interview, Singtel CFO Arthur Lang explains how the group is evolving beyond traditional telecom services to drive future growth.

• Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (SGX: Z74 / FRA: SIT / SIT4 / OTCMKTS: SGAPY / SNGNF), better known as Singtel, has long been a portfolio cornerstone for investors seeking stable income.

• Yet, the company today is vastly different from the traditional telecom utility of the past decade.

• We spoke to Arthur Lang, Group Chief Financial Officer of Singtel, to better understand where the group is headed under its current strategic phase.

🇸🇬 Why I’m Holding Cash (And Watching Microsoft + Sheng Siong) Right Now (The Smart Investor)

• Sitting on cash can feel uncomfortable when markets are making new highs. But sometimes, patience is an investment strategy too.

  • Why I’m Not Fully Invested

  • What To Look For Before Deploying More Capital

  • Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) – A Quality Compounder to Own Through Any Market

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

    • While keeping some cash on the sidelines, you still want part of your portfolio working for you. That’s where Sheng Siong fits in.

    • Being a household name in Singapore, Sheng Siong sells everyday essentials that consumers buy regardless of the economic climate.

    • Sheng Siong has growth prospects, and this makes it appealing. Its long-term vision is to build a network of 120 stores across Singapore. Currently, there are 87 outlets in operation, and there is plenty of room for growth.

  • Why These Two Stocks Made the Cut

  • Get Smart: Patience Is a Position Too

🇻🇳 VinFast Auto: Intense Competition From Chinese Autos Will Drive Downside (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇮🇳 What Ambani’s deep-tech ambitions reveal about India’s AI limits (FT) $ 🗃️

🇮🇳 Infosys Limited (INFY) Shareholder/Analyst Call – Slideshow (Seeking Alpha)

🇮🇳 MakeMyTrip: Temporary Travel Pressure Does Not Break The Buy Case (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇮🇳 Why We Are Buying Aurum Proptech (Bhavik Blog for our Proprietary Investments)

• Aurum Proptech Ltd (NSE: AURUM / BOM: 539289) — Housing as a Platform Deep Dive, June 2026

• Most investors don’t wake up thinking, “I need more exposure to Indian real estate.”

• And honestly, neither do we.

• What does interest us, however, is the infrastructure quietly being built around real estate — the software, distribution, financing, rental management, data and investment products that sit underneath one of India’s largest industries.

• Real estate may be one of the oldest sectors in the economy, but its digitisation is still in the early innings.

• That’s what brought us to Aurum Proptech.

• Historically, some of the biggest technology winners weren’t the businesses owning assets. They were the businesses creating platforms around those assets.

• Aurum appears to be pursuing a similar playbook in India.

🇮🇳 Eureka Forbes: A Service-Led Compounder With a 2x Revenue, 3x EBITDA Roadmap (Smartkarma) $

• Eureka Forbes Ltd (NSE: EUREKAFORB / BOM: 543482), a water and cleaning solutions leader, delivered its second straight year of double-digit revenue growth and record Q4 adjusted EBITDA margin of 13.2%.

• The growth appears structural, supported by a 14-million-customer service base, faster robotics and air purifier adoption, and a debt-free balance sheet.

• The key benchmark is FY30: management targets 2x revenue to INR 5,400-5,600 crore and 3x adjusted EBITDA to INR 800-850 crore.

🇮🇳 Aequs Vision 2031: Can Precision Manufacturing Deliver 4-6x Revenue Growth? (Smartkarma) $

• Aequs Ltd (NSE: AEQUS / BOM: 544634) held its first Investor Day on 18 June 2026, outlining Vision 2031: 4-6x revenue growth, 18-22% EBITDA margin and 20% steady-state RoCE.

• The company is extending its aerospace manufacturing playbook into aero engines, UAVs and consumer electronics, creating new growth optionality with different economics, timelines and execution risks.

• Aequs is well placed in global supply chains, but moving from losses to 20% RoCE by FY31 needs strong execution across three scaling businesses.

🇮🇳 Anup Engineering: Heat Exchangers, Nuclear Entry and Doubling the Capacity (Smartkarma) $

• Anup Engineering Ltd (NSE: ANUP / BOM: 542460), a process equipment manufacturer, delivered record FY26 revenue of INR 822 crore and completed Kheda Phase-2, doubling capacity to 20,000 MT per annum.

• PAT declined 6.7% despite strong revenue, as steel inflation, execution delays and fixed-price contracts pressured margins. FY27 margin recovery is now the key test.

• The long-term story remains intact, led by nuclear entry, skid packages, technical services and a INR 1,200 crore pipeline. Near-term execution will decide the next re-rating.

🇮🇳 Kirloskar Oil Engines: HHP Gensets, Data Centers and Kagal Capex Drive the Next Phase (Smartkarma) $

• Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd (NSE: KIRLOSENG / BOM: 533293), a Leading engine and power solutions company, recorded standalone quarterly sales of INR 1,522 crore in Q4 FY26, taking FY26 sales to INR 5,604 crore with 13.1% EBITDA margin.

• Powergen grew 32% in FY26, with over 50,000 units sold. High-horsepower share is now nearing double digits, led by OptiPrime and HHP demand.

• The debate has shifted to execution. KOEL’s INR 700 crore ongoing expansion and fresh INR 1,400 crore Kagal capex can reset scale, but absorption risk remains.

🇮🇳 Pine Labs: Profitability Has Arrived, But Is It Sustainable? (Smartkarma) $

• Pine Labs Ltd (NSE: PINELABS / BOM: 544606) has crossed important threshold: FY26 was its first full year of profitability. Revenue grew 19% YoY to Rs 2,710.6 crore, adjusted EBITDA expanded 57% YoY to Rs 559crore.

• FY26 platform GTV rose 50% YoY to $194 billion, with UPI volumes growing 68% and the platform enabling over 20 million daily transactions.

• The issue is whether this scale can keep converting into durable earnings.

🇮🇳 E2E Networks: India’s AI Infrastructure Proxy Play! (Smartkarma) $

• The company has crossed the first key test for an AI infrastructure story: GPU capex has started converting into visible revenue and operating leverage.

• Q4 FY26 revenue rose sharply to INR 956 million, while EBITDA margin expanded to 60.7%, helped by H200 scale-up and H100 inventory optimisation.

• The debate is shifting from “can E2E Networks Ltd (NSE: E2E / BOM: E2E) deploy GPUs?” to “can it sustain utilisation, pricing and returns through the next capex cycle?”

🇮🇳 VST Tillers: Tractor Segment Starts Pulling Its Weight (Smartkarma) $

(VST Tillers Tractors Limited (NSE: VSTTILLERS / BOM: 531266))

• FY26 domestic tractor volumes rose to 4,596 units from 3,876 units in FY25. Q4 domestic tractor volumes also grew 20.5% YoY.

• Power tillers delivered the headline growth, but tractor traction can widen the growth runway and improve revenue mix resilience.

• The stock’s next leg depends on repeatability in tractors, retail finance penetration, and FY27 monsoon risk management.

🇮🇳 Jyoti CNC Automation: Capacity Expansion Fuels the Next Growth Phase! (Smartkarma) $

(Jyoti CNC Automation Ltd (NSE: JYOTICNC / BOM: 544081))

• FY26 consolidated revenue grew 15% to Rs.2,093 crore, but a Rs.67 crore revenue reversal at French unit Huron, tied to an ongoing export-control investigation, masked underlying momentum and dented margins.

• By September 2026, a new 10,000-machine line will increase total capacity to 16,000 machines, supporting growth against a record Rs. 4,732 crore order book.

• The core India business deserves premium, but Huron’s investigation and revenue deferral make the consolidated story less clean. At roughly 51.5x trailing earnings, execution risk matters more than headline growth.

🇮🇳 Force Motors: Two Weak Monthly Sales Prints Should Not Hide A Stronger Product Cycle.. (Smartkarma) $

• Force Motors Ltd (NSE: FORCEMOT / BOM: 500033) reported record FY26 revenue and profitability, followed by softer April–May FY27 sales. The stock reaction has focused on the dip, not the product-cycle transition.

• Traveller N, Urbania, Trax and defence orders can rebuild volume momentum, while the BMW/Mercedes engine franchise adds a differentiated non-vehicle earnings layer.

• The thesis moves from simple volume recovery to mix-led earnings resilience. Monthly sales volatility matters, but margin quality and portfolio breadth matter more.

🇮🇱 Teva Pharmaceutical’s Innovative Shift Continues With Ecopipam Addition (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇦🇪 Robo.ai: The AI Pivot Will Not Offset Dilution (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇿🇦 DRDGOLD Limited (DRD) Analyst/Investor Day – Slideshow (Seeking Alpha)

🇿🇦 Sibanye Stillwater Limited (SBSW) Analyst/Investor Day – Slideshow (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. 🇼 🏷️

🇿🇦 Exxaro Resources Limited (EXXAF) Analyst/Investor Day – Slideshow (Seeking Alpha)

• 🇿🇦 Exxaro Resources (JSE: EXX / FRA: LCQ / OTCMKTS: EXXAF) – Diversified resources company with a coal business & acquisitive growth prospects in minerals & energy. Exxaro is among the top 5 coal producers in South Africa. 🇼 🏷️

🇨🇿 Palasino fiscal-year 2026 profit down 10pct amid launch costs for new Czech Republic casino (GGRAsia)

• Palasino Holdings (HKG: 2536), a Hong Kong-listed operator of four land-based casinos in the Czech Republic and an online gaming business, reported net profit attributable to the owners amounting to HKD13.8 million (US$1.8 million) for the financial year ending March 31. That was down 10.4 percent on financial-year 2025’s HKD15.4 million.

• In a Tuesday filing, it said reasons for the decline included an “employee benefits increase of HK$13.5 million to attract talent which enhanced our competitiveness in the employment market”.

• The company was listed in Hong Kong in first-half of calendar-year 2024 as a spin-off from Hong Kong-listed property developer Far East Consortium International Ltd (HKG: 0035 / FRA: FET / OTCMKTS: FRTCF). The latter is also an investor in a Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, real estate development that houses The Star Brisbane casino resort.

🇬🇷 Kri Kri – The Greek yoghurt twenty bagger that Goldman won’t cover (Goldman Won’t Cover This)

• Sometimes the best investment thesis fits in a yoghurt pot. Sometimes the yoghurt aisle receives less analyst coverage than Nvidia. Fortunately, that leaves a little room for moles.

• Kri-Kri Milk Industry S.A. (ASE: KRI) started in 1951 as an ice cream shop in Serres, Northern Greece. Over the following decades it expanded into Greek yoghurt, first for the domestic market and eventually for export. Over the last ten years it has been one of the quieter compounding stories in European small caps — revenue grew at a CAGR of 17.3% from €66.9 million in FY2015 to €328.8 million by end of FY2025.

• Everything is produced in Serres and exported from there. The factory burned down on Christmas eve 2013 — yes you read that right — and was rebuilt within a year as a highly automated, state-of-the-art facility. The decision to upgrade rather than simply replace laid the foundation for the cost advantage that followed.

🌎 MercadoLibre: The Market Is Missing the Jevons Paradox (Business Ontology)

• MercadoLibre reported another stellar quarter, and the market hated it.

• Revenue grew 49% year over year to $8.8 billion, the fastest pace in almost four years. GMV grew 42% to $19.0 billion. TPV grew 50% to $87.2 billion. Fintech monthly active users reached 82,9 million, up 29% year over year. The credit portfolio reached $14.6 billion, up 87% year over year.

• And yet the stock sold off because operating margin fell to 6.9%, down 600 basis points year over year.

• But the headline is not that MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) is suddenly less profitable. The headline is that MercadoLibre is choosing to invest aggressively because the opportunity in front of it is still enormous, and those investments are already producing faster growth, stronger network effects, and better scale economics.

🇧🇲 The Bank of N.T. Butterfield: Strong Bank, But The Easy Upside Looks Priced In (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇧🇷 Petrobras: We’re Adding Hundreds Of Shares On The Dips (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇧🇷 PagSeguro Is Too Cheap At 5x Earnings (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🇧🇷 Alpargatas – $ALPA4.SA (Quipus Capital)

• Is Havaianas Coca Cola for the feet?

• Alpargatas Sa (BVMF: ALPA3 / ALPA4) is a historic footwear manufacturing company (oldest company still traded in the Brazilian exchange), with a rich history in Brazil and Argentina, creating category-defining brands in both countries. Like any old company, its portfolio has changed a lot over the years.

• Today, Alpargatas’ only relevant asset is Havaianas, the largest flip-flop brand in Brazil, and, one could argue, maybe globally.

• Within Brazil, Havaianas sells 200+ million pairs per year (almost exclusively flip-flops). This implies a 65%+ market share in the flip-flop category, and a 50%+ share within the wider sandal+slipper category.

• Havainas sells 1 in every 4 pieces of footwear in the whole country! It’s branded-staple quality renders it similar to Coca-Cola: a product that carries the strongest psychological effects of brand power and yet is within the reach of anyone.

🇨🇴 Colombia Just Elected A Maverick Lawyer As President (Persuasion)

🇨🇺 How to Invest in Cuba: Uninvestable Ideas for (Stupidly) Brave Investors (TheOldEconomy Substack)

• The “Cuban Link” Edition

• Cuban distressed debt is a story for another time. Today, the focus is on publicly traded equities. Here is the list:

• These are the closest things to pure-play exposure to Cuban real estate/tourism, Cuban hydrocarbons, and Cuban ore.

🇲🇽 Coca-Cola FEMSA: A Bottling Fortress Facing A Mexican Tax Reset (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🌐 Nebius: The Vineland Risk Almost Nobody Is Talking About (Seeking Alpha) $ 🗃️

🌐 Nebius: The Funding Gap Could Make The Stock Crash (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. 🇼 🏷️

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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):

Sinda Ltd. SIND Morgan Stanley/Scotiabank/BMO Capital Markets/Canaccord Genuity/Citigroup/RBC Capital Markets, 17.8M Shares, $12.00-12.00, $213.0 mil, 6/26/2026 Priced

(Incorporated in Mexico)

We are an exploration-stage silver miner in Guanajuato, Mexico. We are developing the Sinda Property, which covers about 182 kilometers of identified mineralized strike length. The Electrum Group, a natural resources investment firm, is financing our exploration activities. We have not yet created a mine plan or started production. So far, our work has consisted mostly of exploration drilling and geological assessment of the land.

We hold title to, or have exploration and exploitation rights on, five contiguous mining concessions covering a large-scale high-grade silver-gold greenfield discovery located in the historic Guanajuato epithermal silver belt of Mexico (the “Sinda Property” or the “Project”). The Sinda Property is a large primary silver asset that we believe has the potential to be a globally significant mining operation.

The Sinda Property is located approximately 22 miles (35 kilometers) from the colonial city of San Miguel de Allende in the Mexican state of Guanajuato, approximately 180 miles (290 kilometers) northwest of Mexico City and 28 miles (45 kilometers) southeast of the Guanajuato Mining District, in close proximity to several of the world’s largest and historically most productive silver deposits and mines. The location of the Sinda Property provides access to existing regional infrastructure and an established labor force to support current and future exploration and mining activities. Mexico is the world’s top silver mining jurisdiction, accounting for approximately 20% (20 percent) of all global mined silver production in 2025. Recent policy shifts in Mexico have reignited investment and exploration, and we expect that this will provide a positive backdrop for our exploration and development plans.

Large primary silver assets such as the Sinda Property are rare, with only approximately 28% (28 percent) of global mined silver supply coming from primary silver mines in 2024. Additionally, the universe of primary silver companies is small, creating a scarcity of options for investors seeking silver exposure, which has been exacerbated by recent consolidation among public silver mining companies.

Project Mineral Resource Estimate.

According to the Sinda Technical Report Summary, as of Nov. 24, 2025, the Project boasts an estimated 369 million silver-equivalent ounces of Inferred Mineral Resources and approximately 16 million silver-equivalent ounces of Indicated Mineral Resources, placing it among the top notable underground primary silver assets in Latin America.

Note: We have not generated any revenue to date.

Note: Net loss is for the 12 months that ended March 31, 2026.

(Note: Sinda Ltd. priced its IPO at $12.00 – near the low end of its $11.25-to-$13.25 price range – and sold 17.75 million shares – the number of shares in the prospectus – to raise $213 million on Thursday night, June 25, 2026. Background: Sinda Ltd. accelerated the pricing date of its IPO to June 25 – moved up from June 30. On June 22, 2026, Sinda dislcosed the terms for its IPO. Initial Filing: Sinda Ltd. filed its S-1 for its IPO on June 5, 2026, without disclosing the terms. Estimated IPO proceeds were $100 million, a placeholder figure.)

CopperTech Metals CUX Citigroup/Cantor/BMO Capital Markets/RBC Capital Markets/TD Securities/Stifel/William Blair, 23.5M Shares, $16.00-18.00, $400.0 mil, 7/1/2026 Wednesday

(Incorporated in Delaware)

CopperTech is a U.S. domiciled corporation that controls one of the world’s most significant copper systems, anchored on the Zambian side of the prolific Central African Copperbelt, and positioned to capitalize on what we believe will be an unprecedented copper demand cycle. Driven by artificial intelligence infrastructure, data centers, grid modernization and electrification, we expect there to be greater demand for copper over the next 25 years than has been produced across all human history. Our mission, to Power the Copper Century, reflects our commitment to meeting America’s and the world’s rapidly growing need for critical minerals as this cycle accelerates.

CopperTech seeks to offer a rare combination of scale, grade and expected growth. Supported by existing infrastructure, a multi-decade resource base and a technology-led operating model, we believe that our pathway to significantly expand our production will enable us to be a reliable supplier of copper at scale at precisely the moment global markets need it most. We intend to deploy state-of-the-art technologies in a disciplined and sustainable manner as we advance our Mineral Resource classifications and continue to explore within our substantial copper endowment.

Our flagship asset, Konkola Plc, is a high-grade copper and cobalt producer strategically located in Zambia’s Copperbelt Province. Konkola Plc is 79.42% owned by CopperTech and 20.58% owned by ZCCM, a diversified mining investment and operations company listed on the Lusaka Stock Exchange. From 2004 to 2019, Konkola Plc deployed over $3.0 billion into capital expenditure, funded by a combination of cash generated from operations and from shareholder loans. Over the next five fiscal years (from the start of Fiscal 2027 through the end of Fiscal 2031), Konkola Plc intends to deploy an additional $2.7 billion in capital expenditures, including $0.5 billion in sustaining capital expenditures, into its operations with a goal of driving an increase in copper production to an average of approximately 270 Ktpa (consisting of approximately 180 Ktpa Integrated production and approximately 90 Ktpa from third-party sources) over the remaining operational mine life of Konkola Plc from Fiscal 2030. Konkola Plc expects to fund such expenditure through CopperTech’s investment of the proceeds from this offering in Konkola Plc and may fund the remainder of such expenditure through its existing cash, together with the reinvestment of cash generated from its operations and additional financing, as required.

With such production increases, we are aiming for Konkola Plc to become one of the top copper producing mines by volume globally and an important part of total Zambian cobalt production. Beyond production expansion at Konkola Plc, we intend to invest in exploration activities within our operational sites and in select international jurisdictions to support longer-term Mineral Resource development.

While traditional copper producers rely on decades-old operating processes, CopperTech continues to build a technology-led copper business across our mining and plant operations to increase the productivity, safety and sustainability of our operations. For example, the installation of a new smelter at the Nchanga Complex, one of our key operational sites, has enabled us to capture 99.5% of sulfur emissions from the smelter operations. In addition, we intend to continue using technology, including AI-based technology, aimed at delivering real-time ore grade optimization to increase recovery rates, conducting predictive maintenance to reduce unplanned downtime, deploying automated quality control to ensure consistent premium product, optimizing processes to drive a reduced carbon footprint and establishing remote monitoring capabilities to enable 24/7 expert oversight. Through strategic collaborations with technology specialists, including an ongoing engagement with Palantir, we expect to improve our operating performance, de-risk our expansion and expand our resource base through the deployment of leading geophysical, analytical and AI technologies. Similarly, we intend to pursue collaborations to further enhance the efficiency and profitability of our business. We believe this technology-focused approach will also lead to enhanced performance standards designed to mitigate environmental impacts, which will elevate the standards for responsible mining that conventional miners cannot easily replicate.

The copper demand cycle we intend to capitalize on is expected to be fueled by a structural shift driven by greater needs from AI infrastructure (including data centers), economic growth of developing nations, energy transition and increased defense spending targets. According to Wood Mackenzie, these areas alone are expected to account for roughly 40% of the approximately 7.5 Mtpa of total copper demand growth expected by 2035. As an example, Microsoft’s $500 million data center in Chicago is estimated to require approximately 2.2 Kt of copper, worth approximately $31 million at May 2026 spot prices. With respect to power demand, the International Energy Association notes that large hyperscale data centers are becoming increasingly common, with such data centers demanding power equal to or exceeding 100 MW, which is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption from around 350,000 to 400,000 electric cars, which we believe will result in an increase in copper demand.

At the same time, the supply of copper faces compounding constraints including an approximately 2% annual copper grade decline at existing mines globally (per Ernst & Young), operational disruptions, political instability, geological challenges and previous pandemic-related maintenance delays. The constrained supply is further exacerbated by an approximately 24-year development timeline for new copper mines. Further, a substantial portion of supply capacity remains concentrated in jurisdictions with operational or geopolitical risks — the U.S. net import reliance in 2024 was 45% of domestic copper consumption. With the Democratic Republic of the Congo (“DRC”) accounting for over 75% of the world’s cobalt production and China producing more than 45% of the world’s copper and refining over 70% of the world’s cobalt, U.S. federal policy is increasingly prioritizing diversification and critical mineral security from Western-aligned nations through initiatives from various U.S. governmental agencies, including the Lobito Corridor, a $10 billion rail infrastructure project intended to improve connectivity between Zambia’s Copperbelt Province and Atlantic ports, which we intend to utilize. See “—Zambia—One of the World’s Most Attractive Mining Jurisdictions” and “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—Our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition have been and may continue to be adversely affected by changes in geopolitical and global economic conditions.” for further information.

We believe Konkola Plc’s strong operating history, combined with the Konkola Complex being one of the highest-grade copper and cobalt resources in the world, lay the framework for our Company to be a highly economic and strategic long-term supplier of critical minerals, including to Western-aligned end markets.

Note: Net loss and revenue are in U.S. dollars for the year that ended on March 31, 2026.

(Note: CopperTech Metals disclosed the terms for its IPO on June 23, 2026, in an S-1/A filing: 23.53 million shares at a price range of $16.00 to $18.00 to raise $400 million, if priced at the $17.00 mid-point of its range. Background: CopperTech Metals filed its S-1 on June 2, 2026, without indicating the size of its IPO. Estimated proceeds were $100 million, a placeholder figure.)

MetaOptics (Uplisting) MOT Roth Capital Partners/The Benchmark Company, 3.0M Shares, $5.00-7.00, $18.0 mil, 7/6/2026 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.)

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 (June 29, 2026) was also published on our website under the Newsletter category.

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