Analyst - Media&Entertainment Sector, Blue Lotus Research Institute

Stan Zhao

Analyst - Media&Entertainment Sector

China growth and global non-US Internet equities

Blue Lotus Research Institute

Blue Lotus Research is a Hong Kong Type 4 Licensed investment advisory firm focusing on Chinese growth equities and global non-US Internet equities

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>On December 16th, Kuaishou launched a subscription service for its micro drama channel, we believe it marks a key step towards improving monetization;</li>
<li>The penetration rate of heavy micro drama users on the platform has steadily increased, and leveraging their loyalty and monetization efficiency may improve with the subscription model.</li>
<li>The new model could better help mitigate the macroeconomic risks posed by advertising and the content quality risks of its long-tail partners.</li>
</ul>


On December 16th, Kuaishou launched a subscription service for its micro drama channel, we believe it marks a key step towards improving monetization;
The penetration rate of heavy micro drama users on the platform has steadily increased, and leveraging their loyalty and monetization efficiency may improve with the subscription model.
The new model could better help mitigate the macroeconomic risks posed by advertising and the content quality risks of its long-tail partners.


Monetization Upgrade Kickstarts Kuaishou's Microdrama Business

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.

Equity Capital Markets

<ul>
<li>2025 has seen a sharp turnaround in HK placements, with 36 US$100m+ deals so far. This compares to only 14 in 2022, 13 in 2023, and 15 in 2024.</li>
<li>Most of the 2025 placements have been primary raising and have come from a handful of sectors/backdrops.</li>
<li>In this note, we try to identify the possible primary placements that could take place over the rest of the year.</li>
</ul>


2025 has seen a sharp turnaround in HK placements, with 36 US$100m+ deals so far. This compares to only 14 in 2022, 13 in 2023, and 15 in 2024.
Most of the 2025 placements have been primary raising and have come from a handful of sectors/backdrops.
In this note, we try to identify the possible primary placements that could take place over the rest of the year.


Hong Kong 2025 Placements - Year so Far and Trends for Potential Primary Placements

Derivatives and Quantitative Strategist

Gaudenz Schneider

Equity Derivatives

<ul>
<li>Box trades are gaining popularity on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. These arbitrage strategies exploit price discrepancies in options markets for near risk-free profits.</li>
<li>Long box trades involve simultaneously buying bull call spreads and bear put spreads with identical strikes and expiration dates, creating a fixed payoff regardless of the underlying asset's price movement.</li>
<li>Box trades require careful execution consideration of spreads, commissions, margins, and fees, with risks primarily in execution and operations rather than market exposure.</li>
</ul>


Box trades are gaining popularity on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. These arbitrage strategies exploit price discrepancies in options markets for near risk-free profits.
Long box trades involve simultaneously buying bull call spreads and bear put spreads with identical strikes and expiration dates, creating a fixed payoff regardless of the underlying asset's price movement.
Box trades require careful execution consideration of spreads, commissions, margins, and fees, with risks primarily in execution and operations rather than market exposure.


Box Trades Explained: How Traders Execute Near Risk-Free Arbitrage in Hong Kong's Options Market

Event-Driven

Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) / Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/contemporary-amperex-technolog" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24404:1" rel="noopener">Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) (300750 CH)</a>, one of the world’s largest battery solutions providers, aims to raise around US$5bn in its H-share listing.</li>
<li>CATL is the global leader in new energy vehicle battery solutions, in China and globally, as per SNE Research. Its A-shares have been listed since 2018.</li>
<li>In this note, we look at its past performance and other deal dynamics that might impact the listing.</li>
</ul>



Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) (300750 CH), one of the world’s largest battery solutions providers, aims to raise around US$5bn in its H-share listing.
CATL is the global leader in new energy vehicle battery solutions, in China and globally, as per SNE Research. Its A-shares have been listed since 2018.
In this note, we look at its past performance and other deal dynamics that might impact the listing.


CATL A/H Listing - Early Look - US$5bn Could Be Hong Kong’s Largest This Year

Equity Derivatives and Volatility Specialist, Clifton Derivatives

John Ley

Equity Derivatives and Volatility Specialist

Clifton Derivatives

Independent derivative and volatility research firm focusing on events/catalysts, earnings, relative value and cross asset volatility strategies.

<ul>
<li>Call volumes dominate tradng across single stocks with the Put/Call ratio hitting its 3rd lowest level since the beginning of November. Volumes continue trend lower in place since early November.</li>
<li>Auto companies seeing big increases in option volumes with Li Auto and Great Wall Motor moving in opposite directions since the middle of the month.  </li>
<li>We add 2 new tables showing the largest volume increases across Puts and Calls – a conveient way to view unusual changes in trading activity.</li>
</ul>


Call volumes dominate tradng across single stocks with the Put/Call ratio hitting its 3rd lowest level since the beginning of November. Volumes continue trend lower in place since early November.
Auto companies seeing big increases in option volumes with Li Auto and Great Wall Motor moving in opposite directions since the middle of the month.  
We add 2 new tables showing the largest volume increases across Puts and Calls – a conveient way to view unusual changes in trading activity.


EQD | Hong Kong Single Stock Options Weekly December 23 – 27

China

Kuaishou Technology operates as a content community and social platform. The Company helps users create, upload and watch short videos on mobile devices. Kuaishou Technology offers services worldwide.

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Kuaishou Technology (1024 HK)

Monetization Upgrade Kickstarts Kuaishou's Microdrama Business

Kuaishou transitions from IAP to a subscription model for micro dramas to improve monetization efficiency and mitigate risks. We estimate it can...

Blue Lotus Research Institute

Hong Kong 2025 Placements - Year so Far and Trends for Potential Primary Placements

1H25 saw a sharp turnaround in HK placements, with 36 US$100m+ deals so far. This compares to only 14 in 2022, 13 in 2023, and 15 in 2024. In this...

Sumeet Singh

Box Trades Explained: How Traders Execute Near Risk-Free Arbitrage in Hong Kong's Options Market

JD.com (9618 HK) Earnings Call tonight 8:00 pm HKT. After yesterday's 3.06% move up, the ATM strike is now 165. Straddles offer an opportunity to...

Gaudenz Schneider

CATL A/H Listing - Early Look - US$5bn Could Be Hong Kong’s Largest This Year

The company has now officially filed for a Hong Kong listing and is said to be looking to raise US$5-7bn. The lead banks on the deal are BofA,...

Sumeet Singh

EQD | Hong Kong Single Stock Options Weekly December 23 – 27

Trading volumes in single stocks were dominated by call volumes, with the Put/Call ratio at its 3rd lowest level since early November. We...

John Ley

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

Monetization Upgrade Kickstarts Kuaishou's Microdrama Business

​Kuaishou transitions from IAP to a subscription model for micro dramas to improve monetization efficiency and mitigate risks. We estimate it can...

Blue Lotus Research Institute

Hong Kong 2025 Placements - Year so Far and Trends for Potential Primary Placements

1H25 saw a sharp turnaround in HK placements, with 36 US$100m+ deals so far. This compares to only 14 in 2022, 13 in 2023, and 15 in 2024. In this...

Sumeet Singh

Box Trades Explained: How Traders Execute Near Risk-Free Arbitrage in Hong Kong's Options Market

JD.com (9618 HK) Earnings Call tonight 8:00 pm HKT. After yesterday's 3.06% move up, the ATM strike is now 165. Straddles offer an opportunity to...

Gaudenz Schneider

CATL A/H Listing - Early Look - US$5bn Could Be Hong Kong’s Largest This Year

The company has now officially filed for a Hong Kong listing and is said to be looking to raise US$5-7bn. The lead banks on the deal are BofA,...

Sumeet Singh

EQD | Hong Kong Single Stock Options Weekly December 23 – 27

​Trading volumes in single stocks were dominated by call volumes, with the Put/Call ratio at its 3rd lowest level since early November. We...

John Ley

Kuaishou transitions from IAP to a subscription model for micro dramas to improve monetization efficiency and mitigate risks. We estimate it can...

Trading volumes in single stocks were dominated by call volumes, with the Put/Call ratio at its 3rd lowest level since early November. We...