Georgeson’s Post

A Japanese corporate balance sheet is like a grand house owned by a rich, dotty and rather pitiful hoarder. There’s a large stash of cash, an enormous hoard of equity crossholdings, a vast holding of land and a slug of pure madness, like a corporate art collection, that can’t be justified or explained by any amount of bluster and isn’t generating returns for shareholders. Since 1980, Japan’s asset turn - sales as a percentage of asset holdings - has fallen by more than half. That’s wiped out the hard work of raising profitability. Raising profitability is hard and bitter agony; tidying the balance sheet is the kind of problem that can pretty much be fixed before breakfast - but isn’t. This is what the TSE and shareholders are asking for. Where is the potential? For clients, see my new report “Dog-in-a-manger assets”: https://lnkd.in/gtx-qW6u #japan #japanbusiness #corporategovernance #equityinvestment #investmentresearch

South Korean Shares Plunge After Failed Impeachment Vote Amid Political Crisis | Amaravati Today https://lnkd.in/gHZ6EhFV South Korean stock markets saw their steepest drop since November 13, 2024, as political instability intensified after President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment motion was blocked. This deepening crisis has investors worried about the country's political future. Watch to understand the latest impact on South Korea’s economy and stock market. #SouthKorea #StockMarketCrash #PoliticalCrisis #YoonSukYeol #Impeachment #MarketDecline #KoreanEconomy #SouthKoreaPolitics #InvestorsAlert #PoliticalInstability #KoreanShares #StockMarketNews #SouthKoreanPresident #EconomicDownturn #KoreanImpeachment #AmaravatiToday #DigitalNews

We are pleased to introduce our principal sponsors at this years Japan Korea Week QIC and IFM Investors Global Investor Relations. Japan Korea Week brings together some of Asia's most active investors, transformative insights from industry leaders and so much more. Find more information on investor attendees here - https://okt.to/rKi03z #InfrastructureInvesting #investmentstrategy #IIJapanKoreaWeek

Cumulative voting is another step towards eliminating the Korea Discount. Cumulative voting is a procedure followed when electing a company's directors. Typically, each shareholder is entitled to one vote per share multiplied by the number of directors to be elected. This is a process sometimes known as proportional voting. Cumulative voting is advantageous for individual investors because they can apply all of their votes to one candidate. Still a long way to go, but there has been some progress over the years. See: https://lnkd.in/gS_39SJM https://lnkd.in/gKeaWn_3 https://lnkd.in/gB3CSmgS https://lnkd.in/gRvdvvBC

Great talking about the future of alternative investments over drinks with industry veterans David Lau (Chairman, CHINESE OVERSEAS PRIVATE FUNDS ASSOCIATION 中资海外私募基金协会) and Steve Bernstein of Lone Star Funds and Inflection Point Intelligence at Tokyo American Club last night. Our industry is about people. Smart people meeting to share ideas and possibilities is how we improve and grow. The future is bright. #hedgefunds #alternativeinvestments #privateequity #venturecapital

In Focus: 2024 Korea Season Recap As the collective effort to tackle potential conflict of interest between minority and majority shareholders intensified, the Korean government endeavored for the first time in February 2024 to address the longstanding ‘governance’ discount associated with controlled companies. This set an anticipatory tone heading into the 2024 proxy season. With high hopes, various governance topics were eagerly brought into focus; yet, Korea continued to show meager progress, particularly in disclosure practices. Not unlike previous years, the intense concentration of meetings in the last week of March continued, while most companies persistently disclosed only the minimum information guided by a dated standard. Read the full report authored by Candice Kim, at: https://lnkd.in/gti7Gdt3 #Korea #ProxySeason #CorporateGovernance

I was able to share our approach to working with international partners interested in Japan, at the recent Nikkei Forum, where I was invited as a keynote speaker. There are of course many approaches to entering Japan, but a partnership model can be very effective. #Japan #assetmanagement #nikkeiforum #assetmanagementnation

I had written an article about the Income-Allianz Deal Saga from a Minority Shareholder perspective. Interesting read of my first hand account for the benefit of my fellow Singaporeans. It was also published in the Online Edition of The Edge today, 6th Aug 2024. If you have the time, go read it. It's a 6 minute read. It will give fellow Singaporeans a better understanding of the Income-Allianz deal.

Our latest insight "Addressing the Discount: Shareholder Activism in South Korea" is now available for download using the link below. Once known to be one of the world’s poorest countries, today Korea is better known for the glamour of K-pop and K-dramas that heavily influence global culture. Beneath the glossy surface, however, lies a real-life K-drama where various stakeholders are trying to bring about change within the Korean capital markets to make it more efficient and attractive to address the "Korean Discount". By Will Samuels Chinguun Nyambat Ali Saribas Tom Belt https://lnkd.in/dE2d64N #korea #southkorea #chaebol #discount #koreandiscount #corporategovernance #governance #corpgov