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.

Equity Bottom-Up

China Life Insurance Co H / Equity Bottom-Up

<ul><li>China Life disclosed 3Q results with net profit attributable to shareholders declined by 36.0% YoY in 9M23, indicating a net loss of RMB610mn in 3Q23 (vs a net gain of RMB16.2bn in 3Q22).</li><li>The drop under the old standard was sharper, shown as - 47.8%/-99.1 YoY in 9M/3Q23. We see the 3Q net earnings setback a result of: 1) pressured investment income, with total investment yield down to 2.81%, -1.22pct/- 0.52pct from 9M22/1H23; and 2) enlarged impairment loss on equities of RMB19.7bn in 3Q, versus RMB9.1bn in 2Q (+117% QoQ).</li><li>Despite investment underperformance, the company showed in-line NBV growth by +14.0% YoY in 9M23, driven by +14.8% YoY in first-year premiums (FYP). We estimate that 3Q NBV was down by ~6% YoY, possibly caused by certain demands released in advance before Jul 31. </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.

China Life disclosed 3Q results with net profit attributable to shareholders declined by 36.0% YoY in 9M23, indicating a net loss of RMB610mn in 3Q23 (vs a net gain of RMB16.2bn in 3Q22).The drop under the old standard was sharper, shown as - 47.8%/-99.1 YoY in 9M/3Q23. We see the 3Q net earnings setback a result of: 1) pressured investment income, with total investment yield down to 2.81%, -1.22pct/- 0.52pct from 9M22/1H23; and 2) enlarged impairment loss on equities of RMB19.7bn in 3Q, versus RMB9.1bn in 2Q (+117% QoQ).Despite investment underperformance, the company showed in-line NBV growth by +14.0% YoY in 9M23, driven by +14.8% YoY in first-year premiums (FYP). We estimate that 3Q NBV was down by ~6% YoY, possibly caused by certain demands released in advance before Jul 31. 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.

China Life (2628 HK) – 3Q NP Dragged by Investment Setbacks

Founder of Antler Capital

Stanley Tsai, CFA

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

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
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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

Fintech & EM-focused Analyst, KT Capital Group

Alec Tseung

Fintech & EM-focused Analyst

Equity Capital Markets

<ul><li>Three major concerns/questions I'd ask regarding the potential IPO of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/waterdrop-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:33018:1" rel="noopener">Waterdrop Inc (WDH US)</a>:</li></ul><ol>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/waterdrop-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:33018:1" rel="noopener"></a>Single monetization channel: as the company seeks further growth, can it really compete against the distribution channels of the tech and insurance giants in China?</li>
<li>
Insurance/product development potential: does the company have the expertise to develop its own products without just having to rely on the distribution channels?</li>
<li>
Valuation: if the investment thesis is to ride the growth of healthcare and medical insurance spending in China, isn't it more direct to invest in an online (or even traditional) insurer, which is at a much lower valuation?</li>
</ol>

Three major concerns/questions I'd ask regarding the potential IPO of Waterdrop Inc (WDH US):

Single monetization channel: as the company seeks further growth, can it really compete against the distribution channels of the tech and insurance giants in China?

Insurance/product development potential: does the company have the expertise to develop its own products without just having to rely on the distribution channels?

Valuation: if the investment thesis is to ride the growth of healthcare and medical insurance spending in China, isn't it more direct to invest in an online (or even traditional) insurer, which is at a much lower valuation?


Waterdrop Inc: Can the Water Keep Flowing After Its IPO?

<ul><li>China Life delivered strong VNB growth of +19.9% in 1H23, beat market expectation given its more value-focus product strategy in traditional life and annuities amid the first-half trend in savings sales among peers.</li><li>Despite an improved underwriting structure, the insurer’s net profit down by 8.0% in 1H23 (vs +17.8% in 1Q23), translating to -24.4% in 2Q23, primarily hurt by investment loss given a bumpy equity market in 2Q23,</li><li>We believe the interim NP pushback is in short-term, and expect the more balanced product and channel mix to drive the insurer’s long-term value growth amid an industry-wide product shift in 2H2</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.

China Life delivered strong VNB growth of +19.9% in 1H23, beat market expectation given its more value-focus product strategy in traditional life and annuities amid the first-half trend in savings sales among peers.Despite an improved underwriting structure, the insurer’s net profit down by 8.0% in 1H23 (vs +17.8% in 1Q23), translating to -24.4% in 2Q23, primarily hurt by investment loss given a bumpy equity market in 2Q23,We believe the interim NP pushback is in short-term, and expect the more balanced product and channel mix to drive the insurer’s long-term value growth amid an industry-wide product shift in 2H2Content 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.

China Life (2628 HK) – Outpaced VNB Growth in 1H23

Asset Allocation & Fund Positioning, Copley Fund Research

Steven Holden

Asset Allocation & Fund Positioning

Copley Fund Research

Copley Fund Research provide research and data on asset allocation among Global and Emerging Market equity funds.  The analysis details absolute and relative positioning across countries, sectors and industries together with highly granular data on single stock and single fund allocations.  The data is updated monthly with time series going back to January 2011.

Global Research - Analysis of 165 prominent Global equity funds, combined AUM $335bn
GEM Research - Analysis of 127 prominent global EM equity funds, combined AUM $250bn

Asset Allocation - Global and GEM Equity

Cross Asset Strategy

<ul>
<li>Industrials and Consumer Staples Remain Top Overweights, Though Sentiment Fragile for Both.</li>
<li>Energy sector shows signs of a turnaround from long-term decline, whilst Financials remain unloved by China investors.</li>
<li>Real Estate allocations have hit record lows, with average holdings at just 2.93%, while Consumer Discretionary sector approaches all-time highs.</li>
</ul>


Industrials and Consumer Staples Remain Top Overweights, Though Sentiment Fragile for Both.
Energy sector shows signs of a turnaround from long-term decline, whilst Financials remain unloved by China investors.
Real Estate allocations have hit record lows, with average holdings at just 2.93%, while Consumer Discretionary sector approaches all-time highs.


China

China Life Insurance Company Ltd. offers a wide range of life, accident, and health insurance products and services.

China Life Insurance Co H (2628 HK)

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