Tuesday, July 14, 2009

>Gold steady; look for equities cue this week

Singapore - Spot gold at USD919.85/oz, down 95 cents since NY close; rally overnight from yesterday's low at USD907.45 was prompted by jump in equities on Wall Street, says Adrian Koh, analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore. Equities, gold currently positively correlated as both tending to move inversely to USD. "I think if we get some good second quarter earnings (in U.S.) this week, gold could test higher but overall we think the (short-term) trend is still lower," says Koh. Adds, taking 45-day view, test of USD900 still likely with physical demand still weak. Beyond that, USD900-USD1,000 range likely to resume later in year with bias then towards higher prices.

Gold steady; sustained rally unlikely
Gold was steady in Asia Tuesday after rallying in late New York trade Monday.

The rally, which tracked strong U.S. equities, was the first strong upside move since the start of the month but participants aren't convinced that it represents a trend reversal.

"I think if we see some good second-quarter earnings (in the U.S.) this week, gold could test higher, but overall we think the (short-term) trend is still lower," said Adrian Koh, an analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.

Mitsui Global Precious Metals said in a note that it was also looking for a test of USD900.

"Right now there are no major push factors significantly capable of extending gold to the upside. The physical market is largely disengaged, waiting for the fall towards $880," the note said.

Mitsui said long exposure on futures exchanges was still excessive at 22.7 million ounces at the end of last week, well above the 2009 average of 20.7 million ounces.

"Therefore, we are concerned that a raft of liquidation action is around the corner as investors look to offload stale long positions," it said.

At 0650 GMT, spot gold was at $919.55 a troy ounce, down $1.25 since the New York close. On Tocom, June 2010 gold was at Y2,770/gram, up Y63.

Spot silver was at $12.83/oz, unchanged from overnight, but traders will be watching silver closely for signs of a relative trend reversal versus gold. Silver is down 22% from its early June highs compared to gold's retreat of 8%.

The Gold/silver ratio is now at 71.7 and a close lower than yesterday's 71.9 would be confirmation ratio is likely to move lower, said ScotiaMocatta in a note.

Platinum was also higher at $1,115.50/oz, up $2.50 and could be bolstered by expectations the U.S. auto sector may show signs of recovery in the third quarter.

Barclays Capital said in a note that the sector could see a "substantial turnaround in output growth," helped by the 'cash for clunkers' vehicle scrapping programme.

India gold futures little changed; INR weighs
India August gold contract on MCX little changed at INR14,599/10 grams tracking slight weakness in overseas gold markets, strong INR. "(Overseas) gold has been pressured by worries over the global economy and broad-based weakness in commodities that was fueled partly by U.S. regulatory pressure to limit speculation in the energy and metals markets," says Debjyoti Chatterjee of Admisi Commodities; he expects MCX August contract to consolidate at current levels and move in INR14,460-INR14,650 range today.


Source: COMMODITIESCONTROL

>STATE BANK OF INDIA (GOLDMAN SACHS)

Three reasons to own SBI; reiterate Conviction Buy

What's changed
We see three reasons to own SBI: 1) at a macro level, we believe SBI would be a key beneficiary of the economy returning back to potential growth level—33% CAGR in earnings for SBI during 2009E-2011E; 2) at a bank-specific level, we see SBI as a long-term player with a sustainable
advantage due to its strengthening competitive position—solid and stable deposit franchise, higher and rising productivity compared with its peer group of state-owned banks with prospects of further improvement through potential mergers with its subsidiary banks in the long term; and 3) likely relative valuation change reflecting the potential cyclical upside to earnings and its strengthening competitive position in the long term. We reiterate Buy, on Conviction list, and our 12-m TP of Rs2,280.

Implications
Trading at 2010E P/PPOP, P/E and P/B of 3.2X, 6.4X, and 1.1X, respectively, versus the regional average of 8.2X, 14.6X and 1.9X, we believe SBI’s valuation presents a compelling investment argument both in relative and absolute terms, within India and in the region. In our view, the market seems to be concerned about a tougher outlook for growth for SBI in 2009 and its lower loan loss reserves. While the tougher growth outlook is factored into our expectations, we believe the risk to capital from low loan reserves is insignificant given SBI’s net NPA/equity ratio of 15% in 2008.

Valuation
We derive our 12-m TP of Rs2,280 for SBI using SOTP methodology. At current multiples, SBI is trading ahead of its historical median of 0.9X P/B. However, given its ROE of 18% for 2010E, we believe it should trade well above its historical median and current multiples.

Key risks
Key risks include: 1) increase in interest rates and 2) deterioration in SBI’s asset quality outlook.

To see full report: SBI

>MUNDRA PORT & SEZ (MACQUARIE RESEARCH)

Concerns not in sync with reality

Event
MSEZ has declined significantly by 17% over the past week amid, we believe, unjustified concerns over its earnings post the increase in the Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) in the union budget, and also over its volumes amid economic concerns. We believe the sell-off is overdone and presents an attractive opportunity to enter the stock.

Impact
Not impacted by an increase in MAT: Contrary to perception, Mundra Port enjoys a tax holiday under section 80IAB, which deals with tax benefits for SEZs and not 80IA, which is for infrastructure developers. Under 80IAB, there is no MAT requirement.

Volume growth could come in healthier than expected: Volume growth at Mundra Port could surprise on the upside in the near term and come closer to 20–25% over the next 1–2 quarters versus our estimate of back-ended growth in FY10, driven by coal (both 3rd party and Adani power plant), fertilisers and Maruti (MSIL IN, Rs1,102, UP, TP: Rs680, downside: 38%) car exports (13,336 units in June 2009 vs 4,836 in June 2008).

Upside to our volume estimates: We are building in 21% volume growth in FY10 and only 13% in FY11. Given the strong traffic growth that could come in 1Q FY10 along with the long-term contracts kicking in earlier than expected, we believe significant upside remains to our estimates.

Adani power plant ramp-up ahead of schedule: We are currently building in the commissioning of the entire Adani power plant capacity by FY14 (1,500MW by FY12 and the entire 4,620MW by FY14). However, activity on the ground is ahead of our estimates with the first unit of 330MW already commissioned and commissioning of three more units of 330MW is in the advanced stages. The rest of the 5X660MW units could be commissioned by FY12. If the entire capacity of 4,620MW comes up by FY12, the coal requirement of 17.5mn tons could come in by FY12 itself versus our estimate of FY14.

Earnings and target price revision
No change.

Price catalyst
12-month price target: Rs617.00 based on a Sum of Parts methodology.
Catalyst: Traffic growth in 1Q and 2Q FY10 and any large deals on SEZ land.

Action and recommendation
Maintain Outperform with a target price of Rs617: We continue to maintain that MSEZ remains an attractive play for long-term investors, given extensive expansion in capacity, possibly at the port site, and monetisation of SEZ assets over a long period. 1Q FY10 results could surprise on the upside driven by robust volume growth, which could act as a short-term trigger, in our view.

To see full report: MUNDRA PORT

>ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE SUMMIT (JM FINANCIAL)

Driving India’s economic growth – From IT to Infrastructure

Ushering in the change by reaching out to investors: We cohosted Mr Kamal Nath, Union Cabinet Minister for Road Transport and Highways. The panel members included other luminaries like NHAI chairman Mr Brijeshwar Singh and Mr Brahm Dutt, Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. This was Mr Kamal Nath’s first investor meeting post taking over the Ministry and shows the new and progressive outlook the government has on building infrastructure.

Open to suggestions and new ideas that can help improve execution: Mr Kamal Nath emphasized the role of infrastructure and particularly roads in driving the economic growth. He highlighted the importance of domestic demand, in the current global downturn and India’s favourable demographics. The minister reiterated his commitment to achieve development target of 20km of roads per day. His commitment and zeal was seen in his eagerness to listen to
suggestions. He invited suggestions on improving transparency, efficiency in bidding/awarding projects and innovative means of financing to meet the investment target for NHDP. The minister was confident to smoothen out issues on an urgent basis and will look into ways to make road sector projects more investor friendly. He highlighted that his focus was to decentralize and work closely with all stakeholders like various state governments, investors, developers etc. in implementing best practices.

Aggressive targets have been well thought-out with clear workplans: The last 2 years have not seen much progress with NHDP projects with only 9 projects being awarded in 2008-09. Mr Kamal Nath explained that even though the progress appeared slow, this was an important phase as the government has gained tremendous experience. Mr Singh presented a detailed work plan to award 126 projects covering around 12,000 km in 2009-10. Of this, 65 projects are expected to be open for bidding in Q2/Q3 FY10.

Land acquisition remains a major concern for investors: Investors expressed concern the fact that land related issues caused delays in project implementation leading to cost and time overruns. Mr Nath highlighted that with 80% of land being made available even before bid and balance 20% being notified, risk should get reduced. He also seemed open to increase the availability to 90%. A number of suggestions were put forward: innovative structures for bidding (eg. Swiss Challenge), easy access to superior technology for developers, private investment in projects (eg, NPV based concession period, monetizing land value), relaxing exit clause for developers to allow entry of investors post-completion. Mr Kamal Nath invited suggestions/white papers on these topics directly addressed to him.

To see full report: ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE