HK/China Equity Long-Short

Osbert Tang, CFA

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>Our positive calls on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/fu-shou-yuan-international" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18168:1" rel="noopener">Fu Shou Yuan (1448 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/air-china-ltd-h" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8239:1" rel="noopener">Air China Ltd (753 HK)</a> and negative call on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-conch-environment-protection-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:4827:1" rel="noopener">Conch Environment (587 HK)</a> have generated the best wins in 2022.</li>
<li>These calls achieved returns of 56.8%, 34.2% and 43.5%, respectively, which we think are remarkable given the losses of 16.3% for HSI and 19.3% for HSCEI YTD.</li>
<li>In 2023, we expect Fu Shou Yuan <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/fu-shou-yuan-international" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18168:1" rel="noopener"></a>continue to do well and Conch Environment to remain under pressure. It may be prudent to take some profit on Air China. <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/air-china-ltd-h" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8239:1" rel="noopener"></a> </li>
</ul>


Our positive calls on Fu Shou Yuan (1448 HK) and Air China Ltd (753 HK) and negative call on Conch Environment (587 HK) have generated the best wins in 2022.
These calls achieved returns of 56.8%, 34.2% and 43.5%, respectively, which we think are remarkable given the losses of 16.3% for HSI and 19.3% for HSCEI YTD.
In 2023, we expect Fu Shou Yuan continue to do well and Conch Environment to remain under pressure. It may be prudent to take some profit on Air China.  


Our Three Best Calls in 2022: Review and Outlook for 2023

Equity Bottom-Up

We think that share price of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/air-china-ltd-h" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8239:1" rel="noopener">Air China Ltd (H) (753 HK)</a> has yet to reflect the prospects of recovering international passenger traffic in FY22, despite its 15pp outperformance against the HSCEI YTD. There are news lately on plans to reopen borders by many overseas countries including the US and Australia. It is also speculated that China will do so as well in early 2022 after its vaccination rate hit 85%, vs. 78% currently.Its passenger traffic in Sep has recovered MoM when compared with the local case impacted Aug. Meanwhile, cargo stayed resilient and it will also benefit from the strength in airfreight rate. We think Air China should be appreciated for its capacity management as it has not aggressively expanded capacity despite YoY traffic rebound. This is evidenced by a flat passenger load factor and a 2.7pp expansion in cargo load factor for 9M21.

We think that share price of Air China Ltd (H) (753 HK) has yet to reflect the prospects of recovering international passenger traffic in FY22, despite its 15pp outperformance against the HSCEI YTD. There are news lately on plans to reopen borders by many overseas countries including the US and Australia. It is also speculated that China will do so as well in early 2022 after its vaccination rate hit 85%, vs. 78% currently.Its passenger traffic in Sep has recovered MoM when compared with the local case impacted Aug. Meanwhile, cargo stayed resilient and it will also benefit from the strength in airfreight rate. We think Air China should be appreciated for its capacity management as it has not aggressively expanded capacity despite YoY traffic rebound. This is evidenced by a flat passenger load factor and a 2.7pp expansion in cargo load factor for 9M21.  

Founder of Antler Capital

Stanley Tsai, CFA

In the spirit of the long-awaited UEFA Euro 2020, we present our inaugural "China Financials: Silver Linings Playbook", which summarizes our views on the names that are best positioned to navigate an environment of progressively slower credit growth, tighter liquidity and rising defaults. 
Our screen consists of 100+ stocks in the A/H share universe, as well as a select number of international / non-traditional names that have significant exposures to China's financial system. We have a preference for larger-cap and liquid names, which are then filtered by our opinions on their fundamentals, value, momentum and recent trading volumes. We also try to make our selections versatile and less vulnerable to single-factor movements.
Each player's position on the pitch and the team formation itself convey incremental information about our thoughts on the sector's performance over a three to six-month horizon. To the extent possible, we intend to update our ideas on a periodic basis. This provides a feedback loop with our other ongoing research on the industry.
However, our team selections are not investment recommendations. Instead, they are meant to give structure to our analysis. The playbook allows us to articulate our views on the sector in a timely, concise manner. Our objective is to ensure we don't throw the baby out with the bathwater as sentiments on the sector remain bleak.
With that out of the way, the following is our starting XI. We will dive deeper into our rationale for our selections in the remainder of this insight (Exhibit 1).
<table class="table table-striped">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 726.047px;">Exhibit 1: China Financials | Silver Linings Playbook</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 726.047px;">
<figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/213/768/original/image_768460236451623962508577.png?1623962508" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="213768"></figure>

Source: Our analysis
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
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In the spirit of the long-awaited UEFA Euro 2020, we present our inaugural "China Financials: Silver Linings Playbook", which summarizes our views on the names that are best positioned to navigate an environment of progressively slower credit growth, tighter liquidity and rising defaults. 
Our screen consists of 100+ stocks in the A/H share universe, as well as a select number of international / non-traditional names that have significant exposures to China's financial system. We have a preference for larger-cap and liquid names, which are then filtered by our opinions on their fundamentals, value, momentum and recent trading volumes. We also try to make our selections versatile and less vulnerable to single-factor movements.
Each player's position on the pitch and the team formation itself convey incremental information about our thoughts on the sector's performance over a three to six-month horizon. To the extent possible, we intend to update our ideas on a periodic basis. This provides a feedback loop with our other ongoing research on the industry.
However, our team selections are not investment recommendations. Instead, they are meant to give structure to our analysis. The playbook allows us to articulate our views on the sector in a timely, concise manner. Our objective is to ensure we don't throw the baby out with the bathwater as sentiments on the sector remain bleak.
With that out of the way, the following is our starting XI. We will dive deeper into our rationale for our selections in the remainder of this insight (Exhibit 1).



Exhibit 1: China Financials | Silver Linings Playbook





Source: Our analysis




Related Insights
China Macro: Consumers Remain on the Sidelines, as Their Home Equity Grows 
Glut and Famine: We Might See Snow in China This Summer 
China Macro: PPI Peaks, while CPI Eases Tightening Fears 
China Macro: Exports Disappoint, but It's Still Early in the Game 
Glut and Famine: China's Monetary Conditions a Notch Tighter in May 
ICBC: The Bond Identity | A Zero-Growth Dividend Discount Story 
BOC Aviation (2588 HK): The Stars Don't Look Bigger, but They Do Look Brighter

China Financials: Silver Linings Playbook

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

Travis Lundy

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Quiddity Advisors

Event-Driven

China International Capital Corporation / Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>The New/Better A-H Premium Tracker has tables, charts, measures galore to track A/H premium positioning, southbound and northbound positioning/volatility in pairs over time, etc.</li>
<li>SOUTHBOUND's buy streak was interrupted again this past week, but they still net bought, as did NORTHBOUND. HK stocks continued bouncing VERY hard. Hs outperformed As very strongly.</li>
<li>As had a chance to catch up. Did not. Liquid Hs outperformed their As by 4.8% from 30-April through 10-May. Wide premia narrowed more than narrow premia.</li>
</ul>


The New/Better A-H Premium Tracker has tables, charts, measures galore to track A/H premium positioning, southbound and northbound positioning/volatility in pairs over time, etc.
SOUTHBOUND's buy streak was interrupted again this past week, but they still net bought, as did NORTHBOUND. HK stocks continued bouncing VERY hard. Hs outperformed As very strongly.
As had a chance to catch up. Did not. Liquid Hs outperformed their As by 4.8% from 30-April through 10-May. Wide premia narrowed more than narrow premia.


A/H Premium Tracker (To 10 May 2024):  Excellent Quiddity Portfolio Gains as Hs Rally Huge Vs As

<ul>
<li>The New/Better A-H Premium Tracker has tables, charts, measures galore to track A/H premium positioning, southbound and northbound positioning/volatility in pairs over time, etc.</li>
<li>SOUTHBOUND a net buyer every day since the end of Chinese New Year. Still. NORTHBOUND a huge net seller this week, but net buyers in size (RMB +86bn) over 8wks.</li>
<li>For the first time in a while, AH premia among liquid stocks fell convincingly. Narrow AH premia pairs saw Hs outperform more than wide AH premia Hs (vs As).</li>
</ul>


The New/Better A-H Premium Tracker has tables, charts, measures galore to track A/H premium positioning, southbound and northbound positioning/volatility in pairs over time, etc.
SOUTHBOUND a net buyer every day since the end of Chinese New Year. Still. NORTHBOUND a huge net seller this week, but net buyers in size (RMB +86bn) over 8wks.
For the first time in a while, AH premia among liquid stocks fell convincingly. Narrow AH premia pairs saw Hs outperform more than wide AH premia Hs (vs As).


A/H Premium Tracker (To 22 Mar 2024):  Liquid AH Premia Still At Wides

China

Air China Limited provides passenger, cargo, and airline-related services in China.  The Company is primarily based in Beijing and a major hub for domestic and international air transportation.  Air China's airline-related services include aircraft maintenance, repair, overhaul service, ground services, and in-flight catering services.

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Air China Ltd (A) (601111 CH)

Our Three Best Calls in 2022: Review and Outlook for 2023

In 2023, we expect share prices of Fu Shou Yuan to continue to do well and Conch Environment to remain under pressure. For Air China, given rich...

Osbert Tang, CFA

Air China (753 HK): Come Fly with Me

Air China is well positioned to gain from increase in overseas border openings. Also, China's possible removal of quarantine requirements for...

Osbert Tang, CFA

China Financials: Silver Linings Playbook

Our Silver Linings Playbook outlines our views on the China financials names that are most likely to remain resilient in the face of macro...

Stanley Tsai, CFA

A/H Premium Tracker (To 10 May 2024): Excellent Quiddity Portfolio Gains as Hs Rally Huge Vs As

AH Premia narrowed significantly. As an average, they are down near 52wk lows, with most of the move having taken place in the last 3 weeks. Some...

Travis Lundy

A/H Premium Tracker (To 22 Mar 2024): Liquid AH Premia Still At Wides

The Quiddity AH Monitor had a good week outperforming the biases on both long pairs and short pairs. AH Premia remain wide. Too wide. China...

Travis Lundy

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