APAC Signal-to-Noise: Data center opportunities across telecoms and power equipment

This week, we discuss APAC telecoms' exposure to data centers and satellite services, our initiation of Korean electric equipment maker Hyosung Heavy at Buy, and the initiation of two Japanese railway companies. APAC telecom fundamentals remain broadly resilient. In the US, concerns about Starlink's impact on telecom operators have resurfaced following SpaceX's acquisition of Grain's 14MHz of 800MHz spectrum. For APAC, satellite services are expected to complement rather than disrupt traditional telecom networks in the near term, with adoption likely constrained by economic, technical, and regulatory factors. Data centers provide attractive medium-term growth optionality, though current earnings contributions remain relatively small. India and Korea have the most ambitious expansion plans, while Japan has the largest established footprint. Our preferred picks are Bharti Airtel, SoftBank Corp, and Indosat. We initiated Hyosung Heavy Industries, a Korean power equipment company, at Buy w