Equity Analyst, LightStream Research

Supun Walpola

Equity Analyst

Long-Short Analysis on Japan, Asia and the World

LightStream Research

LightStream conducts quantitatively rigorous and data-driven analysis with a focus on Japan and Asia.

We consistently cover the Tech, Consumer and Industrial sectors, and provide ECM and Events coverage more broadly.

We supplement traditional qualitative insights from company relationships with a robust quantitative foundation that examines as much historical data as is available.
We further refine the accuracy of our insights and calls through the use of alternative data to flesh out current trends, and through a valuation framework that emphasises non-superficial peer group selection and a proper attempt to understand the metrics and changes that have driven security valuations in the past.

Equity Bottom-Up

<p>On the 10th of November, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) issued a draft legislature on the “Guidelines on Anti-monopoly in the Field of Platform Economy”. Following the news, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/alibaba-group-holding-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:787:1" rel="noopener">Alibaba Group (BABA US)</a>’s share price fell by around 12% over the course of the last week, despite the company’s record-smashing Singles’ Day sales. In this note, we take a look at how the new anti-monopoly regulations would affect Alibaba. </p>

On the 10th of November, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) issued a draft legislature on the “Guidelines on Anti-monopoly in the Field of Platform Economy”. Following the news, Alibaba Group (BABA US)’s share price fell by around 12% over the course of the last week, despite the company’s record-smashing Singles’ Day sales. In this note, we take a look at how the new anti-monopoly regulations would affect Alibaba. 

Silver Point

Thomas J. Monaco

Silver Point is a boutique research firm that focuses on the broader financial services sector, with a particular focus on troubled institutions globally. 

Asia Ex Japan

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<p><strong><em>*Yongcheng Coal Default: </em></strong>According to Shanghai Clearing House, Yongcheng Coal and Electricity (YCE) in Henan Province failed to repay a CNY 1 bn (USD 151 mn) short-term bond despite being given the highest rating by one of mainland China’s awful domestic credit ratings agencies; and</p><p><strong><em>*Watch Your Banks: </em></strong>The yield on benchmark five-year “AAA” rated mainland Chinese corporates was 3.99% - up over 100 bp from their April 2020 low. Investor flight is pushing financing costs higher and squeezing local corporate funding in a market which is just barely recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Concerns remain over higher problem loans as debt service risk is heightened over higher rates, unreliable financial statements and ratings agency reports, and now an inability to refinance public debt with a number of bond sales being canceled. Further, the degradation of corporate bond values is limiting their usage as collateral.</p>

*Yongcheng Coal Default: According to Shanghai Clearing House, Yongcheng Coal and Electricity (YCE) in Henan Province failed to repay a CNY 1 bn (USD 151 mn) short-term bond despite being given the highest rating by one of mainland China’s awful domestic credit ratings agencies; and*Watch Your Banks: The yield on benchmark five-year “AAA” rated mainland Chinese corporates was 3.99% - up over 100 bp from their April 2020 low. Investor flight is pushing financing costs higher and squeezing local corporate funding in a market which is just barely recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Concerns remain over higher problem loans as debt service risk is heightened over higher rates, unreliable financial statements and ratings agency reports, and now an inability to refinance public debt with a number of bond sales being canceled. Further, the degradation of corporate bond values is limiting their usage as collateral.

APAC IPOs & Placements

Zhen Zhou, Toh

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.

Equity Capital Markets

JD Health International  / Equity Capital Markets


Aequitas Research puts out a weekly update on the deals that have been covered by the team recently along with updates for upcoming IPOs.




Much has happened since Ant Group (6688 HK)'s IPO got pulled so this will be a lengthy weekly note.
Thanks to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), we now know that Xi Jinping personally cancelled Ant's IPO due to Jack Ma's brazen comments a few weeks earlier. This doesn't look good, especially with news of China’s antitrust watchdogs publishing draft rules targeting monopolistic practices of digital platforms.
The draft rules aim to prevent anti-competitive behavior among online platforms, collaboration on customer data, eliminating smaller payers, and etc. It also mentioned greater regulatory oversight of VIE which will obviously impact upcoming China IPOs and listed companies alike since most of them are built upon VIE structure to raise capital from foreign investors. The Chinese government has not officially legalized such a structure and could use this chance to reign in their control over these companies.
Well, it's 2020, just when you think the bad news end here, there's more. 



Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) was said to be planning new code of conduct for equity and debt deals. This may see the introduction of framework to calculate fees for bookrunners. Companies looking to list may also need to secure underwriting syndicates earlier to limit non-bookrunners from pitching shares to investors to show they have demand in a bid to secure the bookrunner role. There are also potential changes to allocation rules, specifically, regarding the cornerstone structure in HK IPOs where cornerstone investors can secure guaranteed (usually larger) allocation in an IPO in exchange for a six-month lock-up period. For now, nothing is set in stone and, to be fair, this isn't necessarily bad since the goal here is to tighten supervision. 
Aside from Ant's IPO "hiccup" earlier, Hong Kong IPO activity is still looking strong, for now. JD Health (JDH HK), Blue Moon Group Holdings (BMG HK), and Evergrande Services was said to have gotten their approval this week and will start premarketing in the coming week. Netjoy (NETJOY HK) was also said to be seeking approval this week but we have yet to get confirmation of its approval.


JD Health (京东健康) Pre-IPO - Peer Comparison - It's a Close Fight and Competition Is Intensifying 

JD Health (京东健康) Pre-IPO - Assumptions and Valuations 

Blue Moon Group Pre-IPO - Initial Thoughts on Valuation 
Blue Moon Group Pre-IPO - The Positives - Dominant Market Share, Strong Online Sales

Blue Moon Group Pre-IPO - The Negatives - Flagging Offline Sales, Not Really a Primary Raising   
Blue Moon: No. 1 But No Exclusive Advantage, Observation on the Ground

Blue Moon Group Pre-IPO - Online Reviews and Peer Comparison   

Netjoy (云想科技) Pre-IPO: Growth Stalled for the Short Video Marketer 

CR Mixc Lifestyle Services (华润万象生活) Pre-IPO - SOE-Linked Parentage Didn’t Help 

Antengene (6996 HK) launched its IPO this week and Ke Yan, CFA, FRM shared his thoughts on valuation.


Antengene (德琪医药) IPO: Buy the Team 

We also covered recently filed Beijing Kuaishou Technology Co Ltd (1496219D CH) which is expected to raise US$5bn.


Kuaishou Technology Pre-IPO - The Positives - Hot Segment, Fast Growth 

Kuaishou Technology Pre-IPO - The Negatives - Ample Doubts Remain 

In Australia, it's a rare treat to get two IPOs almost at the same time. Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure and Nuix have set their terms for IPO and will begin their bookbuild process soon.
There will also be a few trading debuts next week. Jinke Smart Services (9666 HK), Shinsun Holdings (2599 HK), and Sunac Services (1516 HK) will debut in Hong Kong on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, respectively, followed by Gland Pharma (7172753Z IN) on Friday in India. 
Last but not least, for placements, there were deals across different countries and they were mostly secondary share sale. There is Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust (AREIT SP) private and preferential placement in Singapore to buy office properties and data centres, Japan Airlines (9201 JP) primary placement to shore up balance sheet, selldowns by shareholders in Jiumaojiu (9922 HK), Shenzhou Intl Group Holdings (2313 HK), BDO Unibank Inc (BDO PM) and VGI PCL (VGI TB).
Out of these, the one that stood out (which happened to be the only one we chose to avoid) was VGI's placement which closed higher the day after its done despite its massive deal size (relative to ADV) and deep discount (11%) to last close. The deal was said to be driven by reverse enquiries and was well covered by institutional investors.


Japan Airlines Placement - Given the Uncertain Outlook, Might Need Further Correction 

Ascendas REIT Placement - Multiple Acquisitions to Be Made, Starting From US Office Properties 

Shenzhou International Placement - Conditioned for Selldowns 

Jiumaojiu (九毛九) Placement - Founder and Employees Selling 

BDO Unibank Placement - Wide Discount to Account for the Large Deal Size 

VGI Global Placement - Biggest Block Ever by BTS 





Accuracy Rate:



Our overall accuracy rate is 73.4% for IPOs and 66.1% for Placements 


(Performance measurement criteria is explained at the end of the note)





New IPO filings this week  




New Horizon Health (Hong Kong, ~US$300m)
Central China Management (Hong Kong, &gt;US$100m)

Below is a snippet of our IPO tool showing upcoming events for the next week. The IPO tool is designed to provide readers with timely information on all IPO related events (Book open/closing, listing, initiation, lock-up expiry, etc) for all the deals that we have worked on. You can access the tool here or through the tools menu.





News on Upcoming IPOs  





Australian port IPO seeks at least $477 million in test of appetite for coal assets
Nuix seeks to raise $705m in year’s biggest Australian IPO
Brookfield pushing ahead with India Reit IPO by year-end
Warburg Pincus-backed ESR plans REIT IPO of South Korean assets to raise $321m




Analysis on Upcoming IPOs






Name
Insight


Hong Kong


Antengene

Antengene (德琪医药) Pre-IPO: Proven R&amp;D Track Record by Founder Matters 


Blue Moon

Blue Moon Group Pre-IPO - The Positives - Dominant Market Share, Strong Online Sales 



Blue Moon

Blue Moon Group Pre-IPO - The Negatives - Flagging Offline Sales, Not Really a Primary Raising 



Blue Moon

Blue Moon: No. 1 But No Exclusive Advantage, Observation on the Ground 



Blue Moon

Blue Moon Group Pre-IPO - Online Reviews and Peer Comparison 



ByteDance

ByteDance (字节跳动) IPO: How Jinri Toutiao Paves The Way for a Bigger Empire (Part 1)



ByteDance

ByteDance (字节跳动) Pre-IPO: Why Facebook Should Worry About TikTok 



ByteDance

ByteDance (字节跳动) IPO: Tiktok the No.1 Short Video App for a Good Reason (Part 2)



ByteDance

ByteDance (字节跳动) Pre-IPO: How Has It Done in 1H? 



ByteDance

ByteDance: The Unlisted Company’s Video Apps Leading the Market and Threatening Internet Giants 



ByteDance

ByteDance (字节跳动) Pre-IPO: Why Facebook Should Worry About TikTok 



ByteDance

ByteDance (字节跳动) Pre-IPO - Globally the Most Downloaded App for Jan 2020 Driven by India 



ByteDance

ByteDance (字节跳动) Pre-IPO: Global Ambition Meets Regulatory Challenges 



Dida

Dida Pre-IPO - Making Hay While Big Brother Retreats 



E-Star Comm

E-Star Commercial Management Pre-IPO - Better Disclosure in New Prospectus 



E-Star Comm

E-Star Commercial Management Pre-IPO - Still Largely Reliant on Galaxy, Poor Disclosure Doesn’t Help 



Jiayuan Svcs

Jiayuan Services (佳源服务) Pre-IPO - Another Small Property Management Company 



JD Health

JD Health (京东健康) Pre-IPO - Well-Positioned to Ride China’s Healthcare Digitalization 



JD Health

JD Health (京东健康) Pre-IPO - Peer Comparison - It's a Close Fight and Competition Is Intensifying 



JD Health

JD Health (京东健康) Pre-IPO - Assumptions and Valuations 



Kilcoy

Kilcoy Global Foods Pre-IPO - Rapid Earnings Growth on the Back of Margin Improvement 



Kilcoy

Kilcoy Global Foods Pre-IPO - A Lot of Things Still Remain Unexplained 



Kuaishou

Kuaishou Technology Pre-IPO - The Positives - Hot Segment, Fast Growth 



Kuaishou

Kuaishou Technology Pre-IPO - The Negatives - Ample Doubts Remain 



Megvii

Megvii (旷视) Pre-IPO - Remarkable Growth (Part 1) 


Megvii

Megvii (旷视) Pre-IPO - A Bet on the Future - Segments, Revenue Drivers and Growth Potential 


Megvii

Megvii (旷视) Pre-IPO - The Real Race Is in Research - Founders' Profile and Talent 


Megvii

Megvii (旷视) Pre-IPO - Competitive Landscape and Peer Analysis 


Megvii

Megvii (旷视) Pre-IPO -  Initial Thoughts on Valuation 


Ocumension

Ocumension (欧康维视) Pre-IPO: All Ready for a Great Listing Except a Block Buster 


Pop Mart

Pop Mart Pre-IPO - The Negatives - Is It a Brand Owner or Just a Retailer? 


Pop Mart

Pop Mart Pre-IPO - The Positives - Expanding Portfolio+Wider Distribution= Explosive Earnings Growth 


Pop Mart

Pop Mart Pre-IPO - Peer Set and Valuation 


Pop Mart

Pop Mart Pre-IPO Quick Note - On the Ground - Pop-Up Stores Are Effective 


RemeGen

RemeGen (荣昌生物) Pre-IPO: Thoughts on Valuation of RC18 and RC48 


Toplist

Toplist China Pre-IPO - Overwhelmingly More Negatives than Positives 


Tasly

Tasly Biopharm (天士力生物) IPO: Visible Growth from Approved Drug but Lacks Blockbusters 


WeDoctor

WeDoctor (微医) Pre-IPO -App Walk Through - The Online Medical Directory and More 


WeDoctor

WeDoctor (微医) Pre-IPO - A More Focused Online Medical Svc Provider than Ping An Good Doctor 


India


ASK

ASK Investment Managers Pre-IPO - Riding on a Wave of Wealth 


Anmol Ind
Anmol Industries Pre-IPO Quick Take - No Growth, Generous Payments to Founders


Bharat Hotel

Bharat Hotels Pre-IPO - Catching up with Peers 



Burger King

Burger King India Pre-IPO - Has Been Growing Fast and Plans to Grow Even Faster 



Burger King

Burger King India Pre-IPO - Peer Comparison Yields Interesting Nuggets on Profitability and Capex 



Bajaj En

Bajaj Energy Pre-IPO - Supposed to Deliver Steady Performance if Only Its Sole Client Would Let It 



CMS Info
CMS Info Systems Pre-IPO - When a PE Sells to Another PE... Only One Gets the Timing Right


Crystal Crop
Crystal Crop Protection Pre-IPO - DRHP Raises More Questions than in Answers


ESAF SFB

ESAF Small Finance Bank Pre-IPO - Growing Fast but Remains Highly Dependant on a Related Party 


Flemingo 
Flemingo Travel Retail Pre-IPO - Its a Different Business in Every Country


Emami Cem

Emami Cement Pre-IPO - Still in Ramp Up Phase but Shares Pledge Might Lead to an Early IPO 


IRFC

Indian Railway Finance Pre-IPO - Low Risk, Low Margin Business 


NSE
NSE IPO Preview- Not Only Fast..its Risky and Expensive


NSE
National Stock Exchange Pre-IPO Review - Bigger, Better, Stronger but a Little Too Fast for Some


Mrs. Bector
Mrs. Bectors Food Specialities Pre-IPO Quick Take - Sales for Its Main Segment Have Been Sta



LIC


Life Insurance Corporation of India Pre-IPO - Early Take on India's Largest IPO 



Lodha

Lodha Developers Pre-IPO - Second Time Lucky but Not Really that Much Affordable


Lodha
Lodha Developers IPO: Presence in Affordable Segment Saves Lodha the Blushes in a Sluggish Mkt


Penna Cem

Penna Cement - Aggressive Expansion Plans Even Though Past Performance Has Been Tepid 


PNB Met
PNB Metlife Pre-IPO Quick Take - Doesn't Stack up Well Versus Its Larger Peers


Samhi Hotels

Samhi Hotels Pre-IPO - Assets and Borrowings Are Growing, but Earnings Haven’t Kept Pace 


Malaysia


QSR
QSR Brands Pre-IPO - As Healthy as Fast Food


Thailand


PTTOR

PTT Oil and Retail IPO - F&amp;B Business Is the Profit Driver 


The U.S


CDP

CDP Holdings Pre-IPO Review - Highly Reliant on Best Inc. 


CloudMinds
CloudMinds Inc Early Thoughts - Still Nascent





ECM Weekly (15 November 2020) - JD Health, Kuaishou, CR Mixc Life, Antengene, and Placements!

Financials Credit Analyst

Hank Calenti, CFA

CreditContinuum

Credit

<p style="text-align: justify;">Risk markets rallied on expectations that a meaningful economic restart will be brought forward following news of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/pfizer-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1131:1" rel="noopener">Pfizer's (PFE US)</a> preliminary success rate of 90% in its Coronavirus vaccine trials. Combined with a Goldilocks election outcome whereby President Trump loses the election, but Joe Biden does not win a mandate, Caa rated corporates continued to tighten by more than the Asia High Yield (HY) index and other components of the US HY complex.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Following two days of initial euphoria, markets consolidated on news of increased Coronavirus contagion. The growing footprint of Coronavirus related, pre-Christmas, restrictions across Europe and the US may be a headwind for economic growth over the near term.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In the rate markets, a sharp jump in US yields early in the week retraced as the week progressed and attracted end-user buying, particularly in Asia. Japanese investors were reported to have been strong buyers of 7- to 10-year Treasuries. <strong>One of the developing risks at this point is that the reflation trade does not resurface while federal stimulus is constrained, and near-term economic prospects reduce.</strong> A tepid increase in yields could limit the effectiveness of any fresh Fed action. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Against this background, almost all Asia-headquartered bonds tightened relative to their benchmark spreads as vaccine progress and US Treasury curve steepening increased prospects for higher net interest margins. Amongst Additional Tier 1 bonds, Thai-headquartered banks led advances as the Bank of Thailand lifted a dividend ban and stated that the financial institutions have sufficient capital and loan-loss provisions to withstand the impact of COVID-19. This sounds like cheer-leading and we are tempted to fade this rally. Concurrently, Turkish HY Senior Unsecured bank bonds materially outperformed their global peers in anticipation of more orthodox monetary and economic policies. <strong>Given the starting point for a potential Turkish bank bond rally, we may see higher returns from Turkish- as opposed to Thai-bank bonds.</strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;">In the debt capital markets, over US$30 billion was raised by financial institutions in USD, Euros and Sterling across the credit continuum. When we noted last week that issuers were likely to bring 2021 issuance needs forward, we did not anticipate a flood like this. In what may have been the busiest bank bond issuance week of the year, the amount issued was almost one-half the amount brought in the prior eight weeks.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Market Outlook: </strong>Over the near term, positive vaccine news combined with a goldilocks US election outcome lowers the likelihood of excessive US federal stimulus. This should cap additional upward pressure on US Treasury yields until vision increases on likely H2 ’21 US economic growth, post-vaccine distribution. Reflation remains on hold. This could limit US dollar weakness and limit positive impacts on reflationary beneficiaries such as bank valuations and Emerging Markets (EM) assets. Over the medium term, a less expansionary US fiscal policy should reduce upward pressure on U.S. rates and is likely to support yield-seeking, including EM fixed income securities over time.</p>

Risk markets rallied on expectations that a meaningful economic restart will be brought forward following news of Pfizer's (PFE US) preliminary success rate of 90% in its Coronavirus vaccine trials. Combined with a Goldilocks election outcome whereby President Trump loses the election, but Joe Biden does not win a mandate, Caa rated corporates continued to tighten by more than the Asia High Yield (HY) index and other components of the US HY complex.Following two days of initial euphoria, markets consolidated on news of increased Coronavirus contagion. The growing footprint of Coronavirus related, pre-Christmas, restrictions across Europe and the US may be a headwind for economic growth over the near term.In the rate markets, a sharp jump in US yields early in the week retraced as the week progressed and attracted end-user buying, particularly in Asia. Japanese investors were reported to have been strong buyers of 7- to 10-year Treasuries. One of the developing risks at this point is that the reflation trade does not resurface while federal stimulus is constrained, and near-term economic prospects reduce. A tepid increase in yields could limit the effectiveness of any fresh Fed action. Against this background, almost all Asia-headquartered bonds tightened relative to their benchmark spreads as vaccine progress and US Treasury curve steepening increased prospects for higher net interest margins. Amongst Additional Tier 1 bonds, Thai-headquartered banks led advances as the Bank of Thailand lifted a dividend ban and stated that the financial institutions have sufficient capital and loan-loss provisions to withstand the impact of COVID-19. This sounds like cheer-leading and we are tempted to fade this rally. Concurrently, Turkish HY Senior Unsecured bank bonds materially outperformed their global peers in anticipation of more orthodox monetary and economic policies. Given the starting point for a potential Turkish bank bond rally, we may see higher returns from Turkish- as opposed to Thai-bank bonds.In the debt capital markets, over US$30 billion was raised by financial institutions in USD, Euros and Sterling across the credit continuum. When we noted last week that issuers were likely to bring 2021 issuance needs forward, we did not anticipate a flood like this. In what may have been the busiest bank bond issuance week of the year, the amount issued was almost one-half the amount brought in the prior eight weeks.Market Outlook: Over the near term, positive vaccine news combined with a goldilocks US election outcome lowers the likelihood of excessive US federal stimulus. This should cap additional upward pressure on US Treasury yields until vision increases on likely H2 ’21 US economic growth, post-vaccine distribution. Reflation remains on hold. This could limit US dollar weakness and limit positive impacts on reflationary beneficiaries such as bank valuations and Emerging Markets (EM) assets. Over the medium term, a less expansionary US fiscal policy should reduce upward pressure on U.S. rates and is likely to support yield-seeking, including EM fixed income securities over time.

Bank Credit Weekly: Vaccine Rally, Then Consolidation, Drives Outperformance & Turkey Vs Thai Banks

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

David Blennerhassett

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Quiddity Advisors

Event-Driven

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<div>And the rest, as they say, is history.</div>
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<div>At the 11th hour, leading to what would the world's largest IPO, with an implied valuation of US$316bn - nearly 20% larger than the world's largest bank, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ind-comm-bk-of-china-h" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1119:1" rel="noopener">ICBC (H) (1398 HK)</a> - the Shanghai Stock Exchange <a href="https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2020/1103/2020110302285.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cancelled</a> the A-Share listing saying that the interviews that authorities had conducted with Jack Ma and regulation changes were not adequately explained in the documents, and the listing could not go ahead. Shortly after, Ant Group pulled its H-Share offering too.</div>
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<div>It's easy to point the finger at Jack Ma's bellicose speech in Shanghai on the 24 October, in which he suggested traditional Chinese banks should change their “pawnshop” operating model. Arguably, this didn't help.</div>
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<div>But the scuppering of the IPO is not some juicy vendetta - simply the reality of China's state-controlled banking system.</div>
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<div>The runaway success of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/alibaba-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28434:1" rel="noopener">Alibaba Group (9988 HK)</a> / <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ant-financial-services-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24240:1" rel="noopener">Ant Group (6688 HK)</a> - and other massive tech companies such as <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> - pivots off a less regulated entity pitched against more heavily regulated rivals.</div>
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<div>The reining in of "disruptors" reach of these tech companies came in for even greater oversight yesterday with proposed new government measures to stomp on monopolistic practices, as a means to curtail their influence.</div>
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<div>What does all this mean for big Chinese tech companies? Yesterday's downward move in BABA and Tencent could be just a sign of things to come.</div>
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<div>More below the fold.</div>
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And the rest, as they say, is history.






At the 11th hour, leading to what would the world's largest IPO, with an implied valuation of US$316bn - nearly 20% larger than the world's largest bank, ICBC (H) (1398 HK) - the Shanghai Stock Exchange cancelled the A-Share listing saying that the interviews that authorities had conducted with Jack Ma and regulation changes were not adequately explained in the documents, and the listing could not go ahead. Shortly after, Ant Group pulled its H-Share offering too.





Source: FT




It's easy to point the finger at Jack Ma's bellicose speech in Shanghai on the 24 October, in which he suggested traditional Chinese banks should change their “pawnshop” operating model. Arguably, this didn't help.

But the scuppering of the IPO is not some juicy vendetta - simply the reality of China's state-controlled banking system.

The runaway success of Alibaba Group (9988 HK) / Ant Group (6688 HK) - and other massive tech companies such as Tencent Holdings (700 HK) - pivots off a less regulated entity pitched against more heavily regulated rivals.


The reining in of "disruptors" reach of these tech companies came in for even greater oversight yesterday with proposed new government measures to stomp on monopolistic practices, as a means to curtail their influence.

What does all this mean for big Chinese tech companies? Yesterday's downward move in BABA and Tencent could be just a sign of things to come.

More below the fold.

















































Party Poopers: Reining In China's Internet

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.

Price Gauge
52-week Range	0.00 - 0.00
Market Cap (USDm)	0.00
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Ant Group (6688 HK)

Alibaba: Crime and Punishment

How does the new anti-monopoly regulation affect Alibaba? Does the new legislature prohibit exclusive agreements? Does this mean Alibaba would lose...

Supun Walpola

Another Day, Another Default

MAINLAND CHINA DEFAULT: Yongcheng Coal Defaulted On Its Debt, Leading To Concerns About The Credibility Of AAA Rated Corporates In Mainland China...

Thomas J. Monaco

ECM Weekly (15 November 2020) - JD Health, Kuaishou, CR Mixc Life, Antengene, and Placements!

Much has happened since Ant's IPO got pulled. VIE structure may be at risk and HK ECM practices could get a squeeze from new code of conduct for...

Zhen Zhou, Toh

Bank Credit Weekly: Vaccine Rally, Then Consolidation, Drives Outperformance & Turkey Vs Thai Banks

Positive vaccine news and the US election result lowers the likelihood of excessive US stimulus. This should cap pressure on Treasury yields and...

Hank Calenti, CFA

Party Poopers: Reining In China's Internet

It is a delicate dance to promote home-grown tech companies while keeping existing market forces in check. But it is no secret the PRC government's...

David Blennerhassett

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