The 720 Korea Memory & Strategy, Ibiden, MHI, HSBC, AMEC, Toyota, China Value Retailers, Asia Views, Japan FX

Equity Research 5 August 2026 | 7:20AM HKT

The 720: Korea Memory & Strategy, Ibiden, MHI, HSBC, AMEC, Toyota, China Value Retailers, Asia Views, Japan FX

In Focus | Korea Memory & Strategy Michael Snaith | Korea Memory Sector – Addressing 8 key questions. We reiterate our Buy ratings on Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C.

Samsung Electronics (on CL) and SK Hynix following recent share price corrections, Caleb Chan | as we believe industry fundamentals remain robust with healthy inventory levels and Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C.

no impending NAND oversupply. We expect 2027 HBM pricing to increase roughly 100% year-over-year as AI server demand continues to outpace supply, while long-term agreements are becoming more favorable for suppliers through longer durations and larger coverage. Although SK Hynix missed 2Q26 operating profit expectations due to lower DRAM ASPs, we anticipate solid growth in both volume and pricing in 3Q26 as the company ramps HBM4 volumes. SEC shares are trading at 3.6x 2027E P/E and 1.4x P/B, while Hynix is at 3.5x P/E and 1.6x P/B, which implies that the market does not believe in the sustainability of the solid earnings for these companies. As such, in this report we address 8 key investor questions on the memory industry and companies, and reiterate our Buy ratings on both SEC (on CL) and Hynix. Giuni Lee

Korea Strategy – Positive strategic view intact despite sharp drawdown. After the recent sharp drawdown, we conclude that the market is pricing a more negative fundamental outlook than warranted, and expect it to stabilize and resume its upward trend. We expect the semiconductor memory cycle to be stronger and longer than previous cycles due to accelerating compute demand and deep supply shortages, supporting our aggregate market earnings growth forecasts of 320%, 35%, and 20% for 2026 to 2028. Furthermore, market positioning is now much cleaner following a decline in leveraged ETF AUM, reduced margin exposure, regulatory tightening, and some moderation in hedge fund exposure. In addition, the non-memory segment offers strong earnings growth and ongoing corporate governance reform tailwinds. We stay overweight on Korea and retain our 12m KOSPI index target of 12,000. Timothy Moe

Listen Up - GS Webcasts on the Agenda

US Strategy & Trading: Navigating AI Capex, Earnings, and Volatility | 830am HK | Access Webinar | with Ryan Hammond, Mike Washington, Dani Wojdyla

China in Motion: Consumer Staples | 10am HK | 2Q Earnings Preview & 2H Outlook | Access Webinar | with Leaf Liu & Valerie Zhou (in Mandarin)

Asia Macro | Asia Views, Japan FX

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Asia Views – Macro mix still favors north Asia. We believe the macroeconomic environment continues to favor North Asia, as surging AI investment and tech exports drive “super surpluses” in Taiwan, Korea, and China, contrasting with headwinds from higher energy prices for the rest of the region. While China’s domestic economy remains sluggish despite record trade surpluses, we expect the housing drag to largely play out by 2028, and we see Japan successfully reflating under the Takaichi administration without an accelerated Bank of Japan hiking cycle. Conversely, we remain cautious on Indonesian assets due to policy uncertainty and high sensitivity to oil prices, while in India, we focus on harvesting high carry and elevated longer-end yields amid signs of cyclical improvement. Andrew Tilton

Global Markets Analyst – 10 Questions on Coordinated Yen Intervention. We view the recent coordinated FX intervention as a strong policy step toward stabilizing the Yen, though it will likely provide only a temporary reprieve unless reinforced by shifts in global growth or…