In today’s top stories, BYD plans to build its first EV plant in Thailand, a Tencent-backed snack maker mulls a $4.7bn IPO and solar stocks soared after a favourable research report. Meanwhile, NIO says that Nvidia’s chip restriction won’t harm its business and analysts debate whether a year-end rally is likely.
BYD to build EV plant in Thailand
Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker BYD [1211.HK] announced on Thursday that it had signed a land purchase deal with Thai developer WHA Corp to build its first EV production plant in Southeast Asia, taking advantage of government tax incentives as Thailand seeks to become the region’s EV manufacturing hub. The plant is set to begin operations in 2024 and will have a capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year. Despite the news, BYD’s Hong Kong share price fell 3% on Thursday.
Weilong considers Hong-Kong IPO
Chinese snack brand Weilong Delicious Global Holdings, which is backed by investors including Tencent [TCEHY], could soon launch its long-awaited Hong Kong IPO. According to Bloomberg, the IPO could take place as soon as October this year and may raise as much as $500m, with the company seeking a valuation of approximately $4.7bn. While IPO activity in Hong Kong’s equity market has slowed down since the second half of last year, this news could be a sign that it is picking up again.
Climate bill brightens outlook for solar stocks
Solar stocks like SunPower [SPWR], SolarEdge [SEDG] and First Solar [FSLR] opened higher on Thursday following the news that solar installations could triple over the next five years as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act. A report by the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie forecast that the sector will grow 40% more than previous estimates as a result of the act, lifting funds such as Invesco Solar ETF [TAN] and the Global X Solar ETF [RAYS].
NIO optimistic despite chip shortages
Despite new US restrictions requiring Nvidia [NVDA] to have a licence for some exports to China, Chinese EV maker NIO remained confident the move wouldn’t impact its business or its long-term strategy. In other EV news, Canaccord analyst George Gianarikas told CNBC that Tesla [TSLA] is the “clear leader” compared to Rivian [RIVN], offering a price target that suggests an upside of 190%. Gianarikas, meanwhile, gives Rivian an upside of 83%.
Analyst predicts year-end rally
Ladenburg Thalmann CEO Phil Blancato told CNBC that a “strong rally” could follow after the typically volatile months of September and October. Blancato said the end of October usually marks the start of the ‘year-end rally’, making now a good time to buy the dip in dividend-paying stocks and companies with strong cash flow, such as Costco [COST], ExxonMobil [XOM] and CrowdStrike [CRWD]. However, others are not so sure, with Michael Burry tweeting on Wednesday that “we have not hit bottom yet”.
Healthcare stocks could be a recession-proof bet
Healthcare stocks Biohaven Pharmaceuticals [BHVN], Eli Lilly [LLY] and Thermo Fisher [TMO] have been popular buys with hedge funds in recent weeks as money managers look for defensive positions amid recessionary risks. The boost in investor sentiment has driven the share prices of Biohaven Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly higher in recent weeks, though Thermo Fisher has trended lower.
Episode 132 — A visionary investor’s journey: Real Vision to the Grant Williams podcast
In this week’s episode of Opto Sessions, Grant Williams, host of the Grant Williams Podcast and author of the investing newsletter ‘Things that make you go hmmm…’, discusses his career spanning 35 years in finance and provides his views on the emerging deglobalisation trend. Since stepping away from renowned media brand Real Vision, which he helped to co-found in 2014, he’s remained in advisory roles at asset managers but continues to interview elite money managers.
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