Foldable Phone Frenzy Is Supercharging Stock Gains in China

(Bloomberg) -- Foldable phones are creating a buzz in the consumer electronics sector, and in China’s equity market.

Display maker Tianma Microelectronics Co. rallied 77 percent this year through Wednesday, in the lead up to Samsung Electronics Co. unveiling a $1,980 smartphone with a foldable screen. Fellow display producer BOE Technology Group Co. had jumped 46 percent since the start of year.

Turnover in both stocks soared as investors bet on hefty demand for screens, especially if Chinese smartphone makers like Huawei Technologies Co. follow Samsung into foldable models. More than $612 million worth of Tianma shares traded Wednesday, about 18 times the daily average turnover for last year, while over $1 billion of BOE shares traded every day in the past week in Shenzhen, far outdoing Tencent Holdings Ltd., Asia’s biggest stock by market value. Both companies continued to see heavy turnover on Thursday.

“The surge in flexible panel makers was partly due to valuation recovery, coupled with support from easing liquidity,” said Mark Huang, an analyst with Bright Smart Securities. “Samsung’s release of its foldable phone may kick off a new round of upcycle” he said.

Investors went beyond panel makers in the hunt for potential beneficiaries of a foldable phone frenzy. Puyang Huicheng Electronic Material Co., which provides materials used in panels, has jumped 60 percent this year and Shantou Wanshun Package Material Co. is up 32 percent. China International Capital Corp. counts both among its top picks for investors to capture the theme.

The stocks all retreated a bit on Thursday, falling at least 0.6 percent. Though for Ray Kwok, an analyst with CGS-CIMB Securities Hong Kong Ltd., the trade has even further to run as valuations are below their historic averages.

“Investors who join the trade now may start to feel a little bit of pressure as stocks have gained in the past few weeks, though sector valuation catch-up will continue, adding fuel to the speculation,” he said.

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Tianma trades at about 18 times 12-month forward earnings, still 23 percent below its five-year average. BOE Technology is approaching its five-year average of 24. Kwok’s price targets suggest 33 percent more upside for Tianma and 11 percent for BOE from Thursday’s close.

Not everyone is that optimistic. He Qi, a fund manager at Huatai PineBridge Fund Management Co., said the stocks may soon face a reality check as gains so far have been driven by speculation rather than fundamentals.

“Flexible is still just an idea,” He said of the phones. “It’s not guaranteed that panel makers will be able to make a profit out of it -- it normally takes two to three years before a new tech proves profitable.”

Suppliers elsewhere have also been boosted by Samsung’s new phone. Equipment-maker Finetek Co. jumped as much as 24 percent Thursday morning in Seoul, before paring to 3.7 percent gain. The two-day rally was the biggest since August 2016. Samsung’s shares, though, fell as much as 1.5 percent before adding 0.1 percent at the close.

(Updates with Thursday’s prices.)

--With assistance from Min Jeong Lee and Heejin Kim.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Cindy Wang in Taipei at hwang61@bloomberg.net;Ludi Wang in Shanghai at lwang191@bloomberg.net;Sofia Horta e Costa in Hong Kong at shortaecosta@bloomberg.net;Amanda Wang in Shanghai at twang234@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Richard Frost at rfrost4@bloomberg.net, Will Davies, Magdalene Fung

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