Asia L/S Equity PM/Macro/Thematic Idea Generation

Rikki Malik

Cross Asset Strategy

<ul>
<li>Minimum correction targets  have been hit for the Hang Seng Index</li>
<li>Some potential catalysts for the resumption of the bull market</li>
<li>We highlight some suggested sector allocations for the next phase </li>
</ul>


Minimum correction targets  have been hit for the Hang Seng Index
Some potential catalysts for the resumption of the bull market
We highlight some suggested sector allocations for the next phase 


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

Equity Bottom-Up

China Communications Services / Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>Stable, Steady, State-owned Enterprise with upside from policy push on AI</li>
<li>Lowly rated company with a new cyclical growth story in a strategic sector</li>
<li>Good balance sheet with the opportunity to raise payouts and yields.</li>
</ul>


Stable, Steady, State-owned Enterprise with upside from policy push on AI
Lowly rated company with a new cyclical growth story in a strategic sector
Good balance sheet with the opportunity to raise payouts and yields.


China Communications Services Corp. (552.HK)-Riding the AI Wave...

Forensic Analyst

Jason Yap, CFA

Forensic Accounting

Incorporated in Beijing in July 2014, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-tower-corp-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27037:1" rel="noopener">China Tower (788 HK)</a> is a state-owned telecommunications company that provides telecommunications tower construction, tower maintenance, ancillary facilities management and related services in China. 
As at 31 December 2020, China Tower operated and managed 2.023 million tower sites and its total assets were RMB337.4 billion, and it was therefore commonly known as the world's largest telecommunications tower infrastructure service provider. 
Amid aggressive 5G rollout in China in 2020, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-tower-corp-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27037:1" rel="noopener">China Tower (788 HK)</a> was initially poised to be a key beneficiary of the 5G secular growth story. Instead, its share price performance has significantly underperformed both the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hong-kong-hang-seng-index" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22899:1" rel="noopener">Hong Kong Hang Seng Index (HSI INDEX)</a> and its telecommunication tower infrastructure peers listed internationally over the past 12 to 18 months. 
This was attributed to <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/5G-networks/Chinese-telecom-operators-cut-back-5G-network-construction" target="_blank" rel="noopener">weaker</a> than expected 5G-related demand for new towers, which was in turn due to a combination of factors, such as:
<ol>
<li>slower than expected 5G adoption;</li>
<li>China telecom operators, namely <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-telecom-corp-ltd-h" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1015:1" rel="noopener">China Telecom (H) (728 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-unicom-hong-kong-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1016:1" rel="noopener">China Unicom Hong Kong (762 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-mobile-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27:1" rel="noopener">China Mobile (941 HK)</a> and new entrant China Broadcast Network, striking partnerships to share network frequency bands; and </li>
<li>where possible, China telecom operators opting for co-location of base stations to save tower deployment capital expenditures. </li>
</ol>
In this Insight, we discuss if China Tower is past its trough and whether the upcoming tower lease negotiations in 2022 will become an overhang. Further, we address potential corporate governance concerns given that its major shareholders - that is, the Big 3 China telecom operators - are also its largest customers and therefore have considerable influence on China Tower's business decisions.

Incorporated in Beijing in July 2014, China Tower (788 HK) is a state-owned telecommunications company that provides telecommunications tower construction, tower maintenance, ancillary facilities management and related services in China. 
As at 31 December 2020, China Tower operated and managed 2.023 million tower sites and its total assets were RMB337.4 billion, and it was therefore commonly known as the world's largest telecommunications tower infrastructure service provider. 
Amid aggressive 5G rollout in China in 2020, China Tower (788 HK) was initially poised to be a key beneficiary of the 5G secular growth story. Instead, its share price performance has significantly underperformed both the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index (HSI INDEX) and its telecommunication tower infrastructure peers listed internationally over the past 12 to 18 months. 
This was attributed to weaker than expected 5G-related demand for new towers, which was in turn due to a combination of factors, such as:

slower than expected 5G adoption;
China telecom operators, namely China Telecom (H) (728 HK), China Unicom Hong Kong (762 HK), China Mobile (941 HK) and new entrant China Broadcast Network, striking partnerships to share network frequency bands; and 
where possible, China telecom operators opting for co-location of base stations to save tower deployment capital expenditures. 

In this Insight, we discuss if China Tower is past its trough and whether the upcoming tower lease negotiations in 2022 will become an overhang. Further, we address potential corporate governance concerns given that its major shareholders - that is, the Big 3 China telecom operators - are also its largest customers and therefore have considerable influence on China Tower's business decisions. 

China Tower (788 HK) - Deep Value, Though Lease Negotiation Overhang Persists

Asian Hedge Fund Manager, Long Short Equity, Macro

David Mudd

<ul>
<li>
The Hong Kong Alpha portfolio posted a -0.5% return for April. Since its inception, the HK Alpha portfolio has outperformed the HK indexes by 38.69% to 60.42%.  </li>
<li>Overall alpha generation remains at 64% of overall returns.  The Sharpe ratio for the portfolio is 1.15, compared with 0.89 for the benchmark.</li>
<li>As the US retreats from its war in Iran, we have repositioned the portfolio by adding exposure to the AI-related tech sector, including platform, agentic, and hardware.</li>
</ul>



The Hong Kong Alpha portfolio posted a -0.5% return for April. Since its inception, the HK Alpha portfolio has outperformed the HK indexes by 38.69% to 60.42%.  
Overall alpha generation remains at 64% of overall returns.  The Sharpe ratio for the portfolio is 1.15, compared with 0.89 for the benchmark.
As the US retreats from its war in Iran, we have repositioned the portfolio by adding exposure to the AI-related tech sector, including platform, agentic, and hardware.


China

China Tower Corporation Limited is a state-owned telecommunication company that provides telecommunication tower infrastructure services, including construction, maintenance, and operation of base station ancillary facilities. The company also offers distributed antenna systems, smart tower services, and energy solutions like power backup and battery exchange. It was founded in July 2014 and is headquartered in Beijing, China.

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China Tower (788 HK)

Where Now for the Hong Kong Market?

Hang Seng Index has hit minimum correction targets, potential catalysts for bull market resumption and sector allocation suggestions discussed.

Rikki Malik

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

China Communications Services Corp. (552.HK)-Riding the AI Wave...

The company is quietly making 52-week highs as sentiment improves around Chinese technology, AI and data centres. The news on GDS Holdings spin off...

Rikki Malik