21 AUGUST: WEEKLY MOTORCYCLE INDUSTRY SHARE PRICES

A snapshot of global bike and ATV industry share performance at the trading week closure on Friday 21 August 2015.

Hong Leong Industries, the Malaysian Yamaha joint-venture partner and former owner of now-defunct MZ, never warranted a mention in this commentary before but has earned one now. Hong Leong became unique throughout the entire global motorcycle manufacturing firmament in the past week because its share price, quoted on the Kuala Lumpur exchange, actually climbed.

Every other listed bike producer in the world, apart from three in China which have their prices frozen under trading suspensions, incurred losses — some of them very substantial. A sell-off on this scale is absolutely unprecedented since the financial crisis severely impacted markets back in 2009.

There is no doubt as to the cause. After a fairly brief period of artificially-induced stabilisation and recovery, Chinese shares fell through the floor again at the beginning of this week and doomsayers subsequently noted PMI data suggesting China’s manufacturing growth was also slumping dramatically. This combination of bad news then provoked a whirlwind of negativity in equities around the globe.

Without exception, market indices provided ample illustration. In China, the Shanghai Composite staggered downwards by 11.2% over five days’ trading and Chinese motorcycle stocks plummeted by similar double-digit proportions. Spooked investors in Europe rushed for the exit too. The Eurofirst 300 was down by 6.61% and London’s FTSE 100 sank by 5.54%. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo dropped by 5.28% and New York’s S&P 500 took a 4.68% spanking. Declines were across the board, not particularly specific to the powered two-wheeler business, reflecting a massive collective collapse in confidence about economic prospects everywhere. When China sneezes, the world catches a cold.

And to make Hong Leong’s singular good fortune even more mysterious, the Bursa Malaysia’s FTSE KLSE index also went down by well over 5% across the week, plunging by 2.74% on Friday alone.      

Price (P) Daily change (C) 52-week range (R) One-year investment return (Y)  

USA (US dollar)

Harley-Davidson    P 56.29  C -3.84%  R 70.41 – 53.04  Y -9.88%

Polaris    P 128.58  C -2.44%  R 159.33 – 127.24  Y -11.84%

Arctic Cat    P 26.89  C -3.34%  R 39.72 – 26.00  Y -25.8%

US Highland    P 0.70  C N/A  R 1.05 – 0.13  Y N/A

Viper    P 0.0025  C N/A  R 0.01 – 0.0025  Y N/A

Notes: Polaris makes Victory and Indian bikes, ATVs, snowmobiles, quadricycles and EVs. Arctic Cat makes ATVs and snowmobiles. US Highland makes off-road bikes. Viper Powersports makes the Diamondback Super Cruiser.

CANADA (Canadian dollar)

BRP    P 26.18  C -4.49%  R 29.80 – 20.67  Y -3.86%

Notes: Bombardier Recreational Products makes Can-Am ATVs, Spyder road trikes, Ski-Doo snowmobiles, Sea-Doo PWCs and Rotax proprietary engines.

TAIWAN (Taiwanese dollar)

Sanyang    P 20.15  C -0.49%  R 31.60 – 19.75  Y -28.04%

Notes: Sanyang Motor (SYM) is the leading Taiwanese bike manufacturer. 

VIETNAM (Hong Kong dollar)

VMEPH    P 0.48  C -3.06%  R 0.85 – 0.40  Y +11.76%

Notes: Vietnam Manufacturing & Export Processing Holdings, a JV partner of SYM, is the third-largest Vietnamese bike manufacturer. 

INDONESIA (rupiah)

Astra    P 6050  C -2.42%  R 8575 – 5950  Y -19.23%

Indomobil    P 3100  C -3.12%  R 4600 – 3050  Y -29.34%

Notes: Astra International is a Honda JV partner. Its controlling shareholder is British conglomerate Jardine Matheson. Indomobil Sukses Internasional is a Suzuki JV partner.

EUROPE (euro)

BMW    P 79.00  C -2.76%  R 123.75 – 74.74  Y -8.85%

Daimler    P 69.26  C -2.93%  R 96.07 – 55.10  Y +15.52%

VW    P 164.48  C -0.92%  R 254.99 – 147.35  Y -1.87%

KTM    P 106.90  C -0.09%  R 141.00 – 95.00  Y +9.9%

Piaggio    P 2.54  C -2.01%  R 3.18 – 1.93  Y +20.84%

Notes: Daimler’s AMG-Mercedes subsidiary has a 25% stake in MV Agusta. Volkswagen Group owns Ducati and a 20% stake in Suzuki.

PAKISTAN (Pakistani rupee)

Atlas Honda    P 341.00  C -3.94%  R 409.00 – 234.88  Y N/A

Pak Suzuki    P 433.90  C -2.88%  R 493.00 – 225.00  Y N/A

Notes: Atlas Honda and Pak Suzuki are JV assembly partners.

INDIA (rupee)

Hero    P 2697.10  C +0.54%  R 3271.80 – 2251.30  Y +6.24%

Bajaj    P 2406.20  C -3.44%  R 2695.00 – 1912.50  Y +8.28%

TVS    P 229.50  C -0.95%  R 322.30 – 171.30  Y +30.65% 

Eicher    P 20,464.85  C -2.63%  R 21,620.00 – 9706.00  Y +105%

Mahindra    P 1322.25  C -0.94%  R 1442.05 – 1102.00  Y -4.11%

Maharashtra    P 1053.90  C -0.88%  R 1200.00 – 730.00  Y +47.33%

Scooters India    P 24.25  C -1.82%  R 38.85 – 21.75  Y -11.5%

Notes: Hero MotoCorp is a former Honda JV partner. Bajaj has a major shareholding in KTM and ties with it and Kawasaki. TVS is a former Suzuki JV partner. Eicher makes the Royal Enfield brand. Mahindra & Mahindra has an own-brand bike range and a majority stake in French scooter brand Peugeot. Maharashtra Scooters assembles CKD scooter kits manufactured by Bajaj. Scooters India makes Vikram three-wheeled taxis and light trucks. The Indian government has a majority stake.

JAPAN (yen)

Honda    P 3962.5  C -2.64%  R 4499 – 3239  Y +13.5%

Yamaha    P 2369  C -4.09%  R 3245 – 1803  Y +27.85%

Suzuki    P 4145.5  C -3.67%  R 4780.5 – 3011.5  Y +22%

Kawasaki    P 484  C -3.59%  R 647 – 384  Y +24.78%

CHINA (yuan)

Qianjiang    P 8.15  C -7.7%  R 17.11 – 5.55  Y +16.76%

Zongshen    P 17.25  C N/A  R 30.15 – 5.28  Y N/A  [Trading suspended]  

Sundiro    P 7.69  C -4.57%  R 12.69 – 4.32  Y +46.01%

Jialing    P 10.26  C -5%  R 16.34 – 5.27  Y +67.65% 

Lifan    P 12.47  C -8.85%  R 27.99 – 8.11  Y +42.42%

Loncin    P 19.24  C -9.25%  R 39.48 – 11.76  Y +57.99%

Linhai    P 13.37  C N/A  R 14.29 – 7.78  Y N/A [Trading suspended]

Guangzhou Auto    P 19.29  C -1.18%  R 21.38 – 7.63  Y +141.26%

CHINA (Hong Kong dollar)

Jianshe    P 11.38  C N/A  R 19.99 – 6.13  Y N/A [Trading suspended]

Notes: Qianjiang owns Keeway and formerly Italian Benelli. Zongshen makes own-brand bikes and proprietary engines, and has JV partnerships with Piaggio, (scooters), and Harley-Davidson (parts). Sundiro is a Honda JV partner. Jialing makes own-brand bikes using Honda licensed technology. Lifan makes own-brand bikes and distributes MV Agusta in China. Loncin is a Kawasaki JV partner and OEM engine contractor to BMW Motorrad. Linhai and Jianshe are Yamaha JV partners. Guangzhou Automobile Group is the parent of Honda JV partner and own-brand bike manufacturer Wuyang. 

MALAYSIA (ringgit)

Oriental Holdings    P 6.70  C +0.45%  R 7.93 – 6.46  Y -13.84%

Hong Leong    P 4.99  C +0.2%  R 7.54 – 3.95  Y -12.78%

Notes: Oriental Holdings is a Honda JV partner. Hong Leong Industries is a Yamaha JV partner.

SOUTH KOREA (won)

KR    P 980  C -3.92%  R 1600 – 780  Y +1.55%

Daelim    P 63,500  C -0.47%  R 98,000 – 50,400  Y -25.18%

Notes: KR Motors makes Hyosung bikes and ATVs. Daelim Industrial retains a controlling 59% stake in Daelim Motor, the largest bike manufacturer in Korea. (The remainder is British, owned by Standard Chartered Bank.)