J.P.Morgan Asia Pacific Equity Research: ASEAN FIRST TO MARKET

Research evidence excerpt

J.P.Morgan Asia Pacific Equity Research: ASEAN FIRST TO MARKET

Asia Pacific Equity Research

ASEAN First to Market 03 August 2026

Top Stories

ASEAN High-Conviction Picks (Khoi Vu, CFA/Rajiv Batra), Global

Best stock ideas in ASEAN – August 2026

In July 2026, the two best-performing sector/country picks were: (1) Indonesia (stock: ASII IJ); and (2) Philippines (stock: ICT

PM); while the worst-performing sector/country picks were: (1) Thailand (stock: HANA TB); and (2) Vietnam (stock: VCB CN).

ASEAN (Charnon Boonnuch)

• MAS unexpectedly tightened its FX policy by raising the slope of the policy band, likely by 25bp

• We now expect a similar response in October, underpinned by our view of an above-trend growth outlook

• BI Governor resigns, likely further raising policy uncertainty amid rising external headwinds

• Next week, we monitor regional PMI and CPI data, as well as Indonesia’s FX reserves, trade and GDP data

OCBC Bank (Harsh Wardhan Modi) (OCBC SP, UW, PT S$20.00), Singapore

Episodic GE 2Q26 profit surge on investment income; trim OCBC on this strength

Great Eastern (GE) reported 2Q26 net income of S$503mn, up 103% y/y and 45% q/q. OCBC’s share of profits accounts for

26% of our 2Q26E OCBC forecast, higher vs. last quarter’s 16% and the 15% average in the previous four quarters. This

suggests ~10% upside to OCBC earnings in 2Q26. GE’s growth in profits was led by strong investment performance, which led

to shareholders’ fund profits growing sharply q/q and y/y. Core business grew steadily, with TWNS up 2% q/q and 13% y/y, with

q/q growth led by Malaysia. NBEV growth outpaced TWNS (+7% q/q, +25% y/y) driven by a more favorable product mix. This is

a good beat for GE, with steady core helped by outsized investment profits; though the latter may not be sustainable.