PRE-MARKET AUSTRALIAN, JAPANESE & SOUTH KOREAN STOCK NEWS: Westpac (WBC AT) completed the sale of its RAMS home loan portfolio
AUSTRALIA
Fortescue (FMG AT) - Co. will book a USD 750mln (AUD 1.1bln) pre-tax impairment on its Iron Bridge magnetite project and withdrew its target for the operation to reach its full 22mln-tonne annual capacity by 2028. (AFR)
Healthscope - Co. has proposed converting into a not-for-profit entity, under which lenders owed more than AUD 1.6bln would wait two years to be repaid. (AFR)
Macquarie Group (MQG AT) - Macquarie Capital is among several major corporates facing class action trials in the Victorian Supreme Court involving around one million claimants. (AFR)
Transurban (TCL AT) - Co. finalised a direct agreement on NSW toll reform, subject to definitive agreements and approvals, and reported June traffic rose 3.8% Y/Y. (Dow Jones Newsplus)
Westpac Banking (WBC AT) - Co. completed the sale of its RAMS home loan portfolio, which totalled around AUD 15.4bln at completion, with the transaction increasing its CET1 ratio by 23bps. (Dow Jones Newsplus)
Broker Ratings/Price Target
Domino’s Pizza Enterprises (DMP AT) - Price target raised 17% to AUD 19.70/shr by Citi.
Fortescue (FMG AT) - Price target cut 3.0% to AUD 16.00/shr by Jefferies.
Origin Energy (ORG AT) - Price target cut 2.6% to AUD 12.22/shr by Jefferies; price target cut 1.2% to AUD 12.10/shr by Citi.
JAPAN
Makino Milling Machine (6135 JT) - Co. rejected a takeover proposal from private equity firm NSSK, citing concerns that the involvement of foreign co-investors would make government approval unlikely. (Nikkei)
NTT Data (9613 JT) - Co. launched a new payment platform in India as it seeks to expand its overseas payments business. (Nikkei)
Seven & i Holdings (3382 JT) - Co. will receive JPY 300bln in investment from SoftBank Corp. and other partners as part of a business and capital alliance to revamp its convenience store operations. (Nikkei)
Toyota Motor (7203 JT) - Co. has begun offering used-car buyers the option to retrofit vehicles with the latest safety and anti-theft features through its dealerships. (Nikkei)
Other News
Japan's Finance Ministry said it conducted coordinated yen-buying intervention with the US on Friday to address excessive and disorderly moves in the yen, adding it will not hesitate to intervene again and plans to utilise the Federal Reserve's FIMA Repo Facility in future. (Newswires)
Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party postponed approval of a plan to cut the consumption tax on food to 1%, amid opposition over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's unilateral push and concerns about funding. (Nikkei)
Japan's capital spending by large companies is on track to reach a record high this fiscal year, driven by investment in AI-related data centres, semiconductor manufacturing, power grids and other infrastructure. (Nikkei)
SOUTH KOREA
F&F (383220 KS) - Co. Q2 (KRW) net rose 16.5% Y/Y to 73.0bln, operating profit rose 2.9% Y/Y to 86.5bln, revenue rose 5.5% Y/Y to 399.6bln. (Yonhap)
GC Biopharma (006280 KS) - Co. Q2 (KRW) net fell 96.6% Y/Y to 1.1bln, operating profit fell 93.8% Y/Y to 1.7bln, revenue fell 15.8% Y/Y to 421.2bln. (Yonhap)
HD Hyundai (267250 KS) - Co. Q2 (KRW) net rose 550.2% Y/Y to 3.17trln, operating profit rose 262.2% Y/Y to 4.12trln, revenue rose 30.2% Y/Y to 22.4trln. (Yonhap)
Hyosung Heavy Industries (298040 KS) - Co. Q2 (KRW) net rose 96.6% Y/Y to 171.7bln, operating profit rose 60.9% Y/Y to 264.3bln, revenue rose 10.6% Y/Y to 1.68trln. (Yonhap)
Hyosung TNC (298020 KS) - Co. Q2 (KRW) net rose 480.3% Y/Y to 123.9bln, operating profit rose 157.5% Y/Y to 188.8bln, revenue rose 27.9% Y/Y to 2.41trln. (Yonhap)
Hyundai Motor (005380 KS) - Co. and Kia sold 131,032 EVs in Europe in H1, rose 41.8% from the previous half. (Yonhap)
SK Inc. (034730 KS) - Co. agreed to sell its stake in SK Siltron to Doosan Group for KRW 2.3trln. (Yonhap)
Other News
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung will convene an emergency meeting on real estate and stock market policies following his return from an 11-day overseas trip. (Yonhap)
Financial Services Commission said stricter regulations to curb conglomerate "split listings" will take effect in early August to strengthen fiduciary duties and protect minority shareholders. (Yonhap)
Divesting non-core loan books has been a recurring feature of Australian bank capital management since the sector pivoted toward simplification and balance sheet strength under post-crisis capital expectations, and the pattern here is the standard one: the seller crystallises capital, the buyer is typically a non-bank or consortium targeting yield on mortgage assets, and the headline capital benefit is quantified up front rather than left to inference. The 23bp CET1 uplift is the operative number for holders of the name, since it feeds directly into the buyback and dividend calculus that has driven the majors' relative performance, and completed transactions of this kind have tended to be received as mildly positive with the reaction muted because the economics were usually flagged well in advance of completion. The structural read across is that such sales signal management confidence in capital adequacy rather than stress, distinguishing them from forced deleveraging episodes where portfolios change hands at distressed pricing. Worth observing is whether the other majors follow with their own non-core disposals and whether the freed capital converts into capital returns at the next reporting round rather than sitting as surplus. As a completed, disclosed transaction, the event is confirmatory rather than a new signal.