IPOs and Catalysts/Events, Global Equity Research Ltd

Arun George

IPOs and Catalysts/Events

Uncompromised, Independent, Conflict-Free Research

Global Equity Research Ltd

Global Equity Research was started in 2017 by a group of experienced research professionals. It was founded on a passionate belief in the importance and the need for uncompromised, independent, conflict-free research. We aim to provide differentiated and actionable primary and bottom up fundamental research.

Equity Capital Markets

<p><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hello-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:33031:1" rel="noopener">Hello Inc (1883864D US)</a> is China's third-largest local services platform by transaction volume, according to iResearch. Hello offers bike-sharing and e-bike sharing services known as <em>Hello Bike</em> and <em>Hello e-Bike</em>. It also has a carpooling marketplace known as <em>Hello Carpooling</em>. Hello is seeking to raise $1 billion through a Nasdaq listing, according to press reports. Hello is backed by <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ant-group-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24240:1" rel="noopener">Ant Financial Services Group (6688 HK)</a> which owns 36.3% of the outstanding shares. </p><p>The bike-sharing industry has proved to be a challenging market to generate investment returns as evidenced by <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/meituan-dianping" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26970:1" rel="noopener">Meituan (3690 HK)</a>’s restructuring and impairments related to Mobike. Hello’s investor pitch is that its various businesses create a flywheel effect (a popular term abused by many tech IPO hopefuls) that drives user spending growth with limited user acquisition costs. Hello is suggesting that its core business (shared two-wheeler services) brings a large captive user base to feed its more capital-light and profitable businesses such as carpooling. </p><div class="content-highlight"><p>However, the issue with this rose-tinted view is that Hello remains saddled with a core business that has challenging prospects due to declining growth, low profitability and high cash burn. Also, investors seeking a pure-play on the carpooling market may be better off participating in the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/dida-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:29701:1" rel="noopener">Dida (DIDA HK)</a> IPO. Overall, we are inclined to give the Hello IPO a pass.    </p></div>

Hello Inc (1883864D US) is China's third-largest local services platform by transaction volume, according to iResearch. Hello offers bike-sharing and e-bike sharing services known as Hello Bike and Hello e-Bike. It also has a carpooling marketplace known as Hello Carpooling. Hello is seeking to raise $1 billion through a Nasdaq listing, according to press reports. Hello is backed by Ant Financial Services Group (6688 HK) which owns 36.3% of the outstanding shares. The bike-sharing industry has proved to be a challenging market to generate investment returns as evidenced by Meituan (3690 HK)’s restructuring and impairments related to Mobike. Hello’s investor pitch is that its various businesses create a flywheel effect (a popular term abused by many tech IPO hopefuls) that drives user spending growth with limited user acquisition costs. Hello is suggesting that its core business (shared two-wheeler services) brings a large captive user base to feed its more capital-light and profitable businesses such as carpooling. However, the issue with this rose-tinted view is that Hello remains saddled with a core business that has challenging prospects due to declining growth, low profitability and high cash burn. Also, investors seeking a pure-play on the carpooling market may be better off participating in the Dida (DIDA HK) IPO. Overall, we are inclined to give the Hello IPO a pass.    

Insurance & Central Asia-focused Analyst, KT Capital Group

Alec Tseung

Insurance & Central Asia-focused Analyst

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/zhongan-online-p-c-insurance-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:23681:1" rel="noopener">ZhongAn Online P&amp;C Insurance (6060 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/lemonade-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:29163:1" rel="noopener">Lemonade Inc (LMND US)</a> are two widely known Insurtech companies in the world's two largest property &amp; casualty (P&amp;C) insurance markets</li>
<li>Based on the comparison in the following article, ZhongAn is preferred to Lemonade, both in terms of the valuation and company development</li>
<li>ZhongAn further showed encouraging signs in 2020 as it shifted the product mix towards the health segment, thanks to the pandemic, and its combined ratio was at the lowest since it started operations  </li>
</ul>



ZhongAn Online P&amp;C Insurance (6060 HK) and Lemonade Inc (LMND US) are two widely known Insurtech companies in the world's two largest property &amp; casualty (P&amp;C) insurance markets
Based on the comparison in the following article, ZhongAn is preferred to Lemonade, both in terms of the valuation and company development
ZhongAn further showed encouraging signs in 2020 as it shifted the product mix towards the health segment, thanks to the pandemic, and its combined ratio was at the lowest since it started operations  


ZhongAn Vs. Lemonade: Which One Is a Better Insurtech Bet?

<p><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/waterdrop-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:33018:1" rel="noopener">Waterdrop Inc (WDH US)</a> is the largest independent third-party insurance platform in China as measured by life and health insurance first-year premiums (FYP) distributed in 2020, according to iResearch. It is also the largest medical crowdfunding platform in China as measured by cumulative funds raised for 2020, according to iResearch. Waterdrop is backed by <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tencent-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26:1" rel="noopener">Tencent Holdings (700 HK)</a> (22.1% of outstanding shares), <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/swiss-re-ag-1f83dcbc-730e-46fa-82f2-bfe7e8e361a1" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27914:1" rel="noopener">Swiss Re AG (SREN SW)</a> (5.7%) and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/meituan-dianping" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26970:1" rel="noopener">Meituan (3690 HK)</a>. Waterdrop has filed for an NYSE IPO with a placeholder amount of $100 million. </p><p>Healthcare coverage in China is primarily paid by social medical insurance (29.4% of total healthcare spend), commercial insurance (3.4%) and medical crowdfunding and other social charities (0.2%), according to iResearch. The potential medical protection gap (67.0% out-of-pocket expense) is an opportunity. Driven by the significant medical protection gap and rising awareness for protection, the Chinese insurance market is expected to reach RMB7.8 trillion by 2024, representing a CAGR of 12.9% from 2019, according to iResearch. Third-party insurance brokers and agents is a key distribution channel and will account for 13.0% of the total life and health insurance premium in 2025 vs 2.5% in 2019. </p><div class="content-highlight"><p>As a leading online third-party insurance broker, Waterdrop is well-positioned to benefit from these favourable trends. While the revenue growth rate is slowing it remains fast-paced and is accompanied by lower losses and cash burn. The key unknown is whether the changing regulations will throw a spanner in the works. <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ant-group-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24240:1" rel="noopener">Ant Financial Services Group (6688 HK)</a>, the key competitor, has seen its key CreditTech business bashed by regulations but its InsureTech business (the part that competes with Waterdrop) appears to be relatively unscathed. Notwithstanding the regulatory overhang, we believe that Waterdrop is worth a look.</p></div>

Waterdrop Inc (WDH US) is the largest independent third-party insurance platform in China as measured by life and health insurance first-year premiums (FYP) distributed in 2020, according to iResearch. It is also the largest medical crowdfunding platform in China as measured by cumulative funds raised for 2020, according to iResearch. Waterdrop is backed by Tencent Holdings (700 HK) (22.1% of outstanding shares), Swiss Re AG (SREN SW) (5.7%) and Meituan (3690 HK). Waterdrop has filed for an NYSE IPO with a placeholder amount of $100 million. Healthcare coverage in China is primarily paid by social medical insurance (29.4% of total healthcare spend), commercial insurance (3.4%) and medical crowdfunding and other social charities (0.2%), according to iResearch. The potential medical protection gap (67.0% out-of-pocket expense) is an opportunity. Driven by the significant medical protection gap and rising awareness for protection, the Chinese insurance market is expected to reach RMB7.8 trillion by 2024, representing a CAGR of 12.9% from 2019, according to iResearch. Third-party insurance brokers and agents is a key distribution channel and will account for 13.0% of the total life and health insurance premium in 2025 vs 2.5% in 2019. As a leading online third-party insurance broker, Waterdrop is well-positioned to benefit from these favourable trends. While the revenue growth rate is slowing it remains fast-paced and is accompanied by lower losses and cash burn. The key unknown is whether the changing regulations will throw a spanner in the works. Ant Financial Services Group (6688 HK), the key competitor, has seen its key CreditTech business bashed by regulations but its InsureTech business (the part that competes with Waterdrop) appears to be relatively unscathed. Notwithstanding the regulatory overhang, we believe that Waterdrop is worth a look.

Waterdrop IPO Initiation: Going for Brokers

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements, Aequitas Research

Sumeet Singh

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements

IPOs and Placements coverage across Asia Pacific

Aequitas Research

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.

<div><p><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/waterdrop-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:33018:1" rel="noopener">Waterdrop Inc (WDH US)</a>, a technology platform for insurance and healthcare services in China, aims to raise around US$500m in its US IPO. <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tencent-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26:1" rel="noopener">Tencent Holdings (700 HK)</a> owned 22.1% and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/swiss-re-ag-1f83dcbc-730e-46fa-82f2-bfe7e8e361a1" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27914:1" rel="noopener">Swiss Re AG (SREN SW)</a> owned 5.7% of the company prior to its listing.</p></div><div><p>In our previous note, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/waterdrop-pre-ipo-the-positives-fast-growth-strong-backers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Waterdrop Pre-IPO - The Positives - Fast Growth, Strong Backers</a>, we spoke about the positive aspects of the deal. </p></div><div><p>In this note, we will talk about the not so flattering aspects</p></div>

Waterdrop Inc (WDH US), a technology platform for insurance and healthcare services in China, aims to raise around US$500m in its US IPO. Tencent Holdings (700 HK) owned 22.1% and Swiss Re AG (SREN SW) owned 5.7% of the company prior to its listing.In our previous note, Waterdrop Pre-IPO - The Positives - Fast Growth, Strong Backers, we spoke about the positive aspects of the deal. In this note, we will talk about the not so flattering aspects

Waterdrop Pre-IPO - The Negatives - Scandals, Shutdowns, Competing with Giants, Regulation

Overseas Chinese Equities, Aequitas Research

Ming Lu

Overseas Chinese Equities

<ul class="">
<li>Alibaba’s Freshippo Bazaar opens a mini-program on Tencent’s WeChat and two other Alibaba businesses are trying to follow.</li>
<li>We believe Alibaba surrendered itself to Tencent after Alibaba and Tencent had blocked each other’s businesses for a long time.</li>
<li>We believe that Alibaba’s advantage among e-commerce companies ruins AliPay’s advantage among e-commerce companies.</li>
</ul>


Alibaba’s Freshippo Bazaar opens a mini-program on Tencent’s WeChat and two other Alibaba businesses are trying to follow.
We believe Alibaba surrendered itself to Tencent after Alibaba and Tencent had blocked each other’s businesses for a long time.
We believe that Alibaba’s advantage among e-commerce companies ruins AliPay’s advantage among e-commerce companies.


Alibaba (BABA): Opens Store in Tencent WeChat - A Surrender

China

Ant Group Co., Ltd. develops online payment platforms. The Company produces credit system and financial services platforms which provide consumers and small businesses with safe and convenient inclusive financial services globally. Ant Group provides its services worldwide.

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Ant Group (6688 HK)

Hello IPO Initiation: Goodbye

Hello is seeking to raise $1 billion through a Nasdaq listing, according to press reports. Overall, we are inclined to give the Hello IPO a pass.

Arun George

ZhongAn Vs. Lemonade: Which One Is a Better Insurtech Bet?

With encouraging signs shown in 2020, ZhongAn Online is preferred to Lemonade, both from the perspectives of the valuation and company development.

Alec Tseung

Waterdrop IPO Initiation: Going for Brokers

Waterdrop has filed for an NYSE IPO with a placeholder amount of $100 million. Notwithstanding the regulatory overhang, we believe that Waterdrop...

Arun George

Waterdrop Pre-IPO - The Negatives - Scandals, Shutdowns, Competing with Giants, Regulation

Waterdrop, a technology platform for insurance and healthcare services in China, aims to raise around US$500m in its US IPO. Tencent owned 22.1%...

Sumeet Singh

Alibaba (BABA): Opens Store in Tencent WeChat - A Surrender

Alibaba’s Freshippo Bazaar opens a mini-program on Tencent WeChat and two other Alibaba’s businesses are trying to follow.We believe Alibaba’s...

Ming Lu

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