HK/China Equity Long-Short

Osbert Tang, CFA

Equity Bottom-Up

<p><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-yuhua-education" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:23627:1" rel="noopener">China Yuhua Education (6169 HK)</a> posted a 39.7% YoY growth in adjusted net profit as its higher education segment turned into a key earnings engine. Decent 4pp margin expansion was achieved from higher enrollment, hike in tuition and excellent cost control. We also saw an impressive 127.8% YoY increase in operating cash flow.</p><p>Management points to further margin expansion for most of its universities, and this will drive contribution to net profit (91% of 1H21 profit from higher education). While M&amp;A activities have slowed, organic growth is expected to stay at least at 25% for the near term. Given its sufficient capacity, there is no need for fund raising from the market. In our view, its 16.3x PER and 4.8x P/B (FY21F ROE: 32%) are highly justified, and Yuhua Education remains one of our top picks as stated in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/china-private-education-this-is-where-the-future-lies" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:48727" rel="noopener">China Private Education: This Is Where the Future Lies</a>. </p>

China Yuhua Education (6169 HK) posted a 39.7% YoY growth in adjusted net profit as its higher education segment turned into a key earnings engine. Decent 4pp margin expansion was achieved from higher enrollment, hike in tuition and excellent cost control. We also saw an impressive 127.8% YoY increase in operating cash flow.Management points to further margin expansion for most of its universities, and this will drive contribution to net profit (91% of 1H21 profit from higher education). While M&amp;A activities have slowed, organic growth is expected to stay at least at 25% for the near term. Given its sufficient capacity, there is no need for fund raising from the market. In our view, its 16.3x PER and 4.8x P/B (FY21F ROE: 32%) are highly justified, and Yuhua Education remains one of our top picks as stated in China Private Education: This Is Where the Future Lies. 

China Yuhua Education (6169 HK): Decent 1H21, Key Takeaways from Post-Result Call

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<p>The China Private Education Sector presents an exciting growth story, riding on the increase in spending on education, rise in demand for quality education, support from local governments for private investments and increase in acceptance towards online delivery mode, among others. These positive factors, however, are balanced by the decrease in birth rates and the tight regulatory regime. Despite so, we continue to see good prospects given that earnings growth will remain ahead of the overall market by significant magnitude. Meanwhile, valuations have already returned to more reasonable levels, with investment value started to emerge on some names.</p><p>Companies in the sector have different focuses, including K-12 education, higher education, vocational education, tutoring (online) and tutoring (online and offline), and we have to be very selective. We prefer companies that focus on higher education which face lower regulatory risks, have a clear defined expansion strategy and specialise in a niche market segment. Out of the ten companies covered in this Smartkarma Original, we put forward <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-education-group-holdin" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18218:1" rel="noopener">China Education Group (839 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tianli-education-internation" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27210:1" rel="noopener">Tianli Education (1773 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-yuhua-education" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:23627:1" rel="noopener">China Yuhua Education (6169 HK)</a> as our top picks.</p><h2>What's Original?</h2><p>This Smartkarma Original takes an in-depth analysis on 10 companies in the Private Education Sector in China, covering stocks listed in the HKEx, NYSE, Shenzhen Stock Exchange as well as dual listings. In the A-share space, we cover <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/wuhu-yaxia-automobile-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9979:1" rel="noopener">Offcn Education Technology (002607 CH)</a>, which is sizeable (market cap of almost HK$210bn) and with unique exposure to the civil servants recruitment examination training.</p><p>Besides addressing the key evolving trends of the industry and the all-important regulatory issues, we also touched on the private funding aspects for some prominent unlisted companies and the IPO trends of the industry. Where appropriate, we share some of our on-ground experiences with the aim to provide a closer feel on the industry and companies. We hope this Smartkarma Original will be a comprehensive and updated reference for China's Private Education Sector.</p>

The China Private Education Sector presents an exciting growth story, riding on the increase in spending on education, rise in demand for quality education, support from local governments for private investments and increase in acceptance towards online delivery mode, among others. These positive factors, however, are balanced by the decrease in birth rates and the tight regulatory regime. Despite so, we continue to see good prospects given that earnings growth will remain ahead of the overall market by significant magnitude. Meanwhile, valuations have already returned to more reasonable levels, with investment value started to emerge on some names.Companies in the sector have different focuses, including K-12 education, higher education, vocational education, tutoring (online) and tutoring (online and offline), and we have to be very selective. We prefer companies that focus on higher education which face lower regulatory risks, have a clear defined expansion strategy and specialise in a niche market segment. Out of the ten companies covered in this Smartkarma Original, we put forward China Education Group (839 HK), Tianli Education (1773 HK) and China Yuhua Education (6169 HK) as our top picks.What's Original?This Smartkarma Original takes an in-depth analysis on 10 companies in the Private Education Sector in China, covering stocks listed in the HKEx, NYSE, Shenzhen Stock Exchange as well as dual listings. In the A-share space, we cover Offcn Education Technology (002607 CH), which is sizeable (market cap of almost HK$210bn) and with unique exposure to the civil servants recruitment examination training.Besides addressing the key evolving trends of the industry and the all-important regulatory issues, we also touched on the private funding aspects for some prominent unlisted companies and the IPO trends of the industry. Where appropriate, we share some of our on-ground experiences with the aim to provide a closer feel on the industry and companies. We hope this Smartkarma Original will be a comprehensive and updated reference for China's Private Education Sector.

China Private Education: This Is Where the Future Lies

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

Zhihu Technology / Equity Capital Markets

<div><p><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/zhihu-technology-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:32185:1" rel="noopener">Zhihu Technology (ZH US)</a> raised US$773m at the bottom-end of the IPO price range (including the US$250m concurrent placement).</p></div><div><p>In this note, we will discuss what is circulating in the market and share our thoughts on how it impacts Zhihu.</p></div><div><p>Our previous coverage of Zhihu:</p></div><div><ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/zhihu-pre-ipo-in-the-early-stages-of-monetization" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:49157" rel="noopener">Zhihu (知乎) Pre-IPO - In the Early Stages of Monetization</a> </li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/zhihu-censorship-as-top-risk-may-follow-fate-of-weibo" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:49184" rel="noopener">Zhihu (知乎): Censorship as Top Risk, May Follow Fate of Weibo</a> </li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/zhihu-ipo-monetizing-curiosity" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:49467" rel="noopener">Zhihu (知乎) IPO - Monetizing Curiosity</a> </li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/zhihu-ipo-trading-peers-have-corrected-significantly-but-still-has-a-modest-upside" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:49684" rel="noopener">Zhihu (知乎) IPO Trading - Peers Have Corrected Significantly but Still Has a Modest Upside</a> </li>
</ul></div>

Zhihu Technology (ZH US) raised US$773m at the bottom-end of the IPO price range (including the US$250m concurrent placement).In this note, we will discuss what is circulating in the market and share our thoughts on how it impacts Zhihu.Our previous coverage of Zhihu:

Zhihu (知乎) Pre-IPO - In the Early Stages of Monetization 

Zhihu (知乎): Censorship as Top Risk, May Follow Fate of Weibo 

Zhihu (知乎) IPO - Monetizing Curiosity 

Zhihu (知乎) IPO Trading - Peers Have Corrected Significantly but Still Has a Modest Upside 


Zhihu (知乎) IPO Trading Update - Peers Took Another Leg Down on the Back of Rumored Document

Global Special Situations & Strategy, SR Services Ltd

David Lepper

Global Special Situations & Strategy

SR Services Ltd

SR Services provides Strategic Knowledge and Solutions services for Family Offices and Corporate Business. 

We deliver this via advisory services, strategic planning, opportunity analysis/sourcing, as well as solution implementation. 

Whilst, we create intellectual discipline and operational leverage for your projects or daily activities, our ultimate objective is to empower whilst enhancing your decision making. 

Strategic Knowledge and Solutions

Cross Asset Strategy

<p>Growth as a style has been the “norm” for years, is the “norm” about to end? The continued strategies by Central Bank’s towards a “<em>lower for longer stance around interest rates</em>”, extended the underperformance of value for most of 2020. However, with the value/growth investment style ratio at 20-year lows, we present 27 names which hold characteristics worthy of further review. </p>

Growth as a style has been the “norm” for years, is the “norm” about to end? The continued strategies by Central Bank’s towards a “lower for longer stance around interest rates”, extended the underperformance of value for most of 2020. However, with the value/growth investment style ratio at 20-year lows, we present 27 names which hold characteristics worthy of further review. 

Screening the Silk Road: Q1 2021 All Cap Screening - Free Cashflow (FCF)

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One, Periscope Analytics

Brian Freitas

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One

Quantitative Analysis

<p>Following the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/gamestop-corp-class-a" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13790:1" rel="noopener">GameStop Corp Class A (GME US)</a> saga that has been all over the financial press (and is now spreading into the mainstream press), we have been getting questions on names in Hong Kong that could be prone to a squeeze.</p><p>We do not believe that retail players in Hong Kong have the heft that retail investors in the US do, nor are single stock options frequently used (though there is a lot of retail activity in warrants on large cap names), but the pain that is being felt in global portfolios could lead to unwinding in Hong Kong shorts too.</p><p>Some highly shorted stocks in Hong Kong that have seen prices jump today along with volume surge are <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ping-an-healthcare-and-technology-company-limited" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27008:1" rel="noopener">Ping An Healthcare and Technology Company Limited (1833 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hang-seng-bank-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24:1" rel="noopener">Hang Seng Bank (11 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/vitasoy-intl-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:2807:1" rel="noopener">Vitasoy Intl Holdings (345 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-literature-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24388:1" rel="noopener">China Literature (772 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/bank-of-east-asia-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:341:1" rel="noopener">Bank of East Asia (23 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/mtr-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13289:1" rel="noopener">MTR Corp (66 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/want-want-china-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:355:1" rel="noopener">Want Want (151 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/samsonite-international-sa" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12790:1" rel="noopener">Samsonite (1910 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/wharf-real-estate-investment" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26031:1" rel="noopener">Wharf Real Estate Investment (1997 HK)</a>.</p><p>We identify more stocks that could be prone to short covering based on short interest as a percentage of issued shares, free float and in terms of days of ADV to cover.</p>

Following the GameStop Corp Class A (GME US) saga that has been all over the financial press (and is now spreading into the mainstream press), we have been getting questions on names in Hong Kong that could be prone to a squeeze.We do not believe that retail players in Hong Kong have the heft that retail investors in the US do, nor are single stock options frequently used (though there is a lot of retail activity in warrants on large cap names), but the pain that is being felt in global portfolios could lead to unwinding in Hong Kong shorts too.Some highly shorted stocks in Hong Kong that have seen prices jump today along with volume surge are Ping An Healthcare and Technology Company Limited (1833 HK), Hang Seng Bank (11 HK), Vitasoy Intl Holdings (345 HK), China Literature (772 HK), Bank of East Asia (23 HK), MTR Corp (66 HK), Want Want (151 HK), Samsonite (1910 HK) and Wharf Real Estate Investment (1997 HK).We identify more stocks that could be prone to short covering based on short interest as a percentage of issued shares, free float and in terms of days of ADV to cover.

China

China Maple Leaf Educational Systems Limited is a Chinese international school operator. The Company operates high schools, middle schools and elementary schools across various Chinese cities.

China Maple Leaf Educational Systems (1317 HK)

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China Maple Leaf Educational Systems (1317 HK)

China Yuhua Education (6169 HK): Decent 1H21, Key Takeaways from Post-Result Call

Yuhua Education should see good organic earnings prospects as it benefits from higher student enrollment, hike in tuition and cost control. There...

Osbert Tang, CFA

China Private Education: This Is Where the Future Lies

Profit growth at China Private Education Sector will speed ahead and outperform overall market significantly. With valuations retreated to more...

Osbert Tang, CFA

Zhihu (知乎) IPO Trading Update - Peers Took Another Leg Down on the Back of Rumored Document

We think the drop is overdone. Sure, Zhihu is sort of an educational website but it is nowhere close to what the techedu companies are doing.

Zhen Zhou, Toh

Screening the Silk Road: Q1 2021 All Cap Screening - Free Cashflow (FCF)

With the value/growth investment style ratio at 20-year lows, we present 27 names which hold characteristics worthy of further review.

David Lepper

HK Shorts: Squeeze-O-Meter

Following the GameStop saga, we try to identify stocks in HK that could be susceptible to a short squeeze based on short interest vs issued shares...

Brian Freitas

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