Aequitas Research

Hong Jie Seow

Independent Insight Provider

IPOs and Placements coverage across Asia Pacific

We cover all listing across the Asia Pacific along with follow-up placements. As of Dec 2020, our team had covered 539 IPOs with a hit rate of 73.5% and 685 placements with a hit rate of 66.8%.

We combine fundamental bottom-up views with our proprietary quantitative framework to provide a holistic coverage across new listings and placements. Our coverage includes pre-IPO notes before the deal is launched, follow-up analysis once the deal is live and post-listing trading analysis as well.

Equity Capital Markets

Shanghai Forest Cabin Biological-Tech / Equity Capital Markets

Shanghai Forest Cabin Biological-Tech (SFCBT HK)

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/shanghai-forest-cabin-biological-tech-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:45249:1" rel="noopener">Shanghai Forest Cabin Biological-Tech (SFCBT HK)</a> is looking to raise up to US$139m in its upcoming Hong Kong IPO.</li>
<li>SFC is the leader among China’s premium domestic skincare brands with a focus on anti-wrinkle and firming skincare market.</li>
<li>We have looked at the company's past performance in our previous note. In this note, we talk about valuations.</li>
</ul>



Shanghai Forest Cabin Biological-Tech (SFCBT HK) is looking to raise up to US$139m in its upcoming Hong Kong IPO.
SFC is the leader among China’s premium domestic skincare brands with a focus on anti-wrinkle and firming skincare market.
We have looked at the company's past performance in our previous note. In this note, we talk about valuations.


Shanghai Forest Cabin IPO: High Growth And Margins, Priced At A Discount

Chief Economist, Aletheia Capital

Dr. Jim Walker

Chief Economist

Independent and original Asian investment research

Aletheia Capital

Aletheia Capital (HK) Ltd. (previously known as Asianomics) combines the extensive knowledge of its experienced team with technology and regulatory changes to disrupt Global Markets business in Asia. The firm is completely independent with no conflicts of interest either on Investment Banking advisory or Capital Markets execution.

Macroeconomics

<ul><li data-start="0" data-end="190">South Korean export prices rose 7 percent year on year, signaling a strong recovery after summer weakness, while Chinese real retail sales grew around 3 percent despite nominal softness.</li><li data-start="192" data-end="358">Chinese monetary aggregates expanded, with M2 up 8 percent and M0 growth at 10.6 percent, indicating monetary and credit support despite consumer price deflation.</li><li data-start="360" data-end="571" data-is-last-node="">Thailand cut interest rates slightly, Japanese yields surged beyond policy adjustments, and U.S. artificial intelligence investment faces structural limits, likely causing widespread disappointment in returns.</li></ul>

South Korean export prices rose 7 percent year on year, signaling a strong recovery after summer weakness, while Chinese real retail sales grew around 3 percent despite nominal softness.Chinese monetary aggregates expanded, with M2 up 8 percent and M0 growth at 10.6 percent, indicating monetary and credit support despite consumer price deflation.Thailand cut interest rates slightly, Japanese yields surged beyond policy adjustments, and U.S. artificial intelligence investment faces structural limits, likely causing widespread disappointment in returns.

Walker’s Weekly: Dr. Jim's Summary of Key Global Macro Developments -19 Dec 2025

APAC IPOs & Placements, Aequitas Research

Nicholas Tan

APAC IPOs & Placements

CaoCao Inc. develops and manages an online car hailing service platform. The Company provides personal car hailing, group car hailing, reserved car hailing, safe car hailing, airport pick up and drop off, half day rental, and other services. CaoCao also offers autonomous driving technology development services.

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/caocao-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:42803:1" rel="noopener">CaoCao (2643 HK)</a> raised US$236m from its HK IPO in June 2025 via a primary offering of HKD41.94/share in its IPO.</li>
<li>It is a ride hailing platform in China originally incubated by Geely Group connecting passengers and drivers to deliver consistent and high-quality ride experiences.</li>
<li>In this note, we will talk about the lockup dynamics and possible placement.</li>
</ul>



CaoCao (2643 HK) raised US$236m from its HK IPO in June 2025 via a primary offering of HKD41.94/share in its IPO.
It is a ride hailing platform in China originally incubated by Geely Group connecting passengers and drivers to deliver consistent and high-quality ride experiences.
In this note, we will talk about the lockup dynamics and possible placement.


CaoCao IPO Lockup: US$384m Lockup Release; Shares Have Taken a Dive

External broker reports(aggregated public sources), CMB International

CMB International

External broker reports(aggregated public sources)

Incorporated in Hong Kong, supported by the mainland and targeting in global market, CMB International Capital Corporation Limited (“CMBI”) is an integrated financial institution providing comprehensive and professional services. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Merchants Bank ("CMB"), by leveraging on the Group’s synergy and coordination in domestic and overseas markets, as well as CMB’s strong resources and outstanding social reputation, CMBI and its subsidiaries have been actively implementing diversified business strategies and set up an overall layout of main business segments including Corporate Finance, Asset Management, Wealth Management, Global Markets and Structured Finance, etc. Adhering to the philosophy of “being clients oriented and increasing our own values by the way of creating value for clients”, CMBI endeavors to provide quality and integrated financial services to institutional, corporate and individual customers both domestic and overseas including Hong Kong IPO sponsorship and underwriting, share placement and rights issue for listed companies, financial advisors, bonds issuance services, asset management, direct investment, wealth management, equity sales and trading, etc.

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul><li>Looking ahead to 2026, we believe competition in the large language model (LLM) industry will further intensify, while monetization of AI applications in niche segments should see continued momentum.</li><li>We are optimistic about the further monetization potential driven by improved AI agent capabilities, as well as increased paid user penetration and monetization from advanced image editing and video generation LLMs.</li><li>We currently do not anticipate overinvestment risks among cloud service providers, and expect 2026 earnings growth of US-listed leaders to support their valuations. </li></ul>Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

Looking ahead to 2026, we believe competition in the large language model (LLM) industry will further intensify, while monetization of AI applications in niche segments should see continued momentum.We are optimistic about the further monetization potential driven by improved AI agent capabilities, as well as increased paid user penetration and monetization from advanced image editing and video generation LLMs.We currently do not anticipate overinvestment risks among cloud service providers, and expect 2026 earnings growth of US-listed leaders to support their valuations. Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

US Internet & Software - 2026 outlook: AI applications to ramp up; eyes on AI investment return

<ul><li>At the time of writing, JP lifers have outstanding USD papers totaled USD27.5bn, representing 45% of the total outstanding USD papers issued by Asian lifers.</li><li>We view JP lifers USD hybrids as high-quality diversification plays in view of these lifers’ solid capitalization and resulting refinancing capacity.</li><li>The structure of subordinated capital papers of JP lifers (except RESLIF 6.875 Perp) are more investor-friendly compared to those issued by Australia, mainland China and Singapore, in view of the absence of principal write‑down or equity conversion features, while the distribution is cumulative in case of deferral</li></ul>Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

At the time of writing, JP lifers have outstanding USD papers totaled USD27.5bn, representing 45% of the total outstanding USD papers issued by Asian lifers.We view JP lifers USD hybrids as high-quality diversification plays in view of these lifers’ solid capitalization and resulting refinancing capacity.The structure of subordinated capital papers of JP lifers (except RESLIF 6.875 Perp) are more investor-friendly compared to those issued by Australia, mainland China and Singapore, in view of the absence of principal write‑down or equity conversion features, while the distribution is cumulative in case of deferralContent is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

CMBI Fixed Income - Japan Lifers: Yield Pick-Up Plays over Peers

China
Insights on China

Shanghai Forest Cabin IPO: High Growth And Margins, Priced At A Discount

Shanghai Forest Cabin plans to raise $139m in Hong Kong IPO, leading China's premium skincare market with focus on anti-wrinkle products....

Hong Jie Seow

Walker’s Weekly: Dr. Jim's Summary of Key Global Macro Developments -19 Dec 2025

South Korean export prices rose 7 percent year on year, signaling a strong recovery after summer weakness, while Chinese real retail sales grew...

Dr. Jim Walker

CaoCao IPO Lockup: US$384m Lockup Release; Shares Have Taken a Dive

CaoCao raised US$236m in HK IPO, a ride hailing platform in China focused on consistent ride experiences, with discussion on lockup dynamics and...

Nicholas Tan

US Internet & Software - 2026 outlook: AI applications to ramp up; eyes on AI investment return

Looking ahead to 2026, we believe competition in the large language model (LLM) industry will further intensify, while monetization of AI...

CMB International

CMBI Fixed Income - Japan Lifers: Yield Pick-Up Plays over Peers

At the time of writing, JP lifers have outstanding USD papers totaled USD27.5bn, representing 45% of the total outstanding USD papers issued by...

CMB International

Shanghai Forest Cabin IPO: High Growth And Margins, Priced At A Discount

​Shanghai Forest Cabin plans to raise $139m in Hong Kong IPO, leading China's premium skincare market with focus on anti-wrinkle products....

Hong Jie Seow

Walker’s Weekly: Dr. Jim's Summary of Key Global Macro Developments -19 Dec 2025

South Korean export prices rose 7 percent year on year, signaling a strong recovery after summer weakness, while Chinese real retail sales grew...

Dr. Jim Walker

CaoCao IPO Lockup: US$384m Lockup Release; Shares Have Taken a Dive

​CaoCao raised US$236m in HK IPO, a ride hailing platform in China focused on consistent ride experiences, with discussion on lockup dynamics and...

Nicholas Tan

US Internet & Software - 2026 outlook: AI applications to ramp up; eyes on AI investment return

Looking ahead to 2026, we believe competition in the large language model (LLM) industry will further intensify, while monetization of AI...

CMB International

CMBI Fixed Income - Japan Lifers: Yield Pick-Up Plays over Peers

At the time of writing, JP lifers have outstanding USD papers totaled USD27.5bn, representing 45% of the total outstanding USD papers issued by...

CMB International

Shanghai Forest Cabin plans to raise $139m in Hong Kong IPO, leading China's premium skincare market with focus on anti-wrinkle products....

CaoCao raised US$236m in HK IPO, a ride hailing platform in China focused on consistent ride experiences, with discussion on lockup dynamics and...