Bank of East Asia (BEA)(00023) announced the results of its strategic review by initiating a sale process for BEA Life. J. P. Morgan sees the possibility of one-time divestment gains and special dividends post divestment that might boost market sentiment but the research house thinks it is unlikely to result in a valuation re-rating.
Therefore, JPM retained its "underweight" rating and HK$15.3 target price and suggested that investors sell into near-term rally/outperformance if any.