The 720: China Batteries Sector Initiation, Australia Metals & Mining, Asia Pacific Banks, All Ring, Kakao Corp, Victory Giant, China FX/Rates

Research evidence excerpt

The 720: China Batteries Sector Initiation, Australia Metals & Mining, Asia Pacific Banks, All Ring, Kakao Corp, Victory Giant, China FX/Rates

Goldman Sachs The 720

risks to iron ore, aluminium, and lithium alongside ongoing mining sector cost inflation.

We upgrade Whitehaven Coal to Neutral with a 12m TP of A$8.1, downgrade Fortescue

Metals Group to Sell, and reinstate BlueScope Steel at Buy with a 12m TP of A$37.7. We

also remain Buy rated on BHP, Lynas Rare Earths, Iluka Resources, and Champion Iron,

while maintaining Sell ratings on Mineral Resources and New Hope. We lift our FY27

capex and opex forecasts across our coverage to factor in higher diesel, equipment, and

labor costs. Paul Young

Asia Pacific Banks – Deepened Financial Connectivity Benefits HK Banks. We view the 11

new measures announced by the PBoC, HKMA, and SFC to strengthen Hong

Kong-Mainland financial cooperation as a structural positive for Hong Kong banks. The

initiatives, which include expanding the HKMA’s RMB Business Facility from RMB200bn

to RMB500bn, should support sector-wide RMB-related balance sheet growth by

increasing offshore liquidity. We believe BOCHK is the key near-term beneficiary given

its role as the sole RMB clearing bank in Hong Kong, which should drive higher clearing

and settlement fee income. Melissa Kuang

All Ring – Stronger CoWoS Offsets CPO Concerns – Buy. We reiterate our Buy rating on All

Ring Tech but lower our 12m TP to NT$1,550 from NT$1,650. We revise our 2026-2028E

EPS by +7.2%/-6.0%/-11.6% to reflect stronger near-term revenue and gross margin

assumptions alongside accelerating CoWoS capacity expansion, offset by lower CPO

equipment unit shipments. We raise our 2Q26/3Q26/4Q26E gross margin forecasts to

54.0%/54.5%/52.7% on a better advanced packaging product mix.