Equity Analyst, LightStream Research

Shifara Samsudeen, FCMA, CGMA

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

Several news media outlets reported in September that ByteDance (1439927D CH) has made plans to launch a music streaming app in China later this year. The online music streaming market in China is long dominated by Tencent Music who previously held exclusive music licensing agreements with global music streaming giants Warner Music Group (WMG), Universal Music (UMG) and Sony Music in China. However, TME was ordered to give-up these exclusive music licensing agreements by the country’s market regulator SAMR (state Administration of Market Regulation) and the company announced in August that it has relinquished all of its exclusive music licensing agreements as per the order of the Chinese regulators.TME’s shares are currently trading at US$6.87 per ADR at its all-time low and the shares are down 77.4% compared to its peak of US$30.42 per ADR in mid-March.

TME: ByteDance’s Entry into Music Streaming to Further Threaten TME’s Dominance

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

Shanghai MicroPort MedBot Group / Equity Capital Markets

<div><p>MicroPort MedBot (MM), a surgical robot company, aims to raise up to US$1bn in its Hong Kong IPO. It is a subsidiary of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/microport-scientific-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:4487:1" rel="noopener">Microport Scientific (853 HK)</a> and is backed by Hillhouse and other  mainly domestic investors.</p></div><div><p>MicroPort MedBot (MM) is a surgical robot company which designs, develops and commercializes surgical robots to assist surgeons in performing complex surgical procedures. It is the only company with a product portfolio covering the five major and fast-growing surgical specialties of laparoscopic, orthopedic, panvascular, natural orifice and percutaneous surgical procedures, as per Frost &amp; Sullivan (F&amp;S).</p></div><div><p>Its flagship products, Toumai Laparoscopic Surgical Robot, DFVision 3D Electronic Laparoscope and Honghu Orthopedic Surgical Robot, have all been admitted to the NMPA’s Green Path. Toumai and Honghu are at or near the registration approval stage, and DFVision has recently received NMPA approval.</p></div><p>We have looked at the company’s background and products in our earlier note, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/microport-medbot-pre-ipo-robodoc-pre-revenue-has-a-large-competitor-but-a-large-market-as-well" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MicroPort MedBot Pre-IPO - RoboDoc - pre-revenue, has a large competitor but a large market as well</a>. </p><p>In this note, we will talk about the PHIP updates and look at the performance of its largest competitor.</p>

MicroPort MedBot (MM), a surgical robot company, aims to raise up to US$1bn in its Hong Kong IPO. It is a subsidiary of Microport Scientific (853 HK) and is backed by Hillhouse and other  mainly domestic investors.MicroPort MedBot (MM) is a surgical robot company which designs, develops and commercializes surgical robots to assist surgeons in performing complex surgical procedures. It is the only company with a product portfolio covering the five major and fast-growing surgical specialties of laparoscopic, orthopedic, panvascular, natural orifice and percutaneous surgical procedures, as per Frost &amp; Sullivan (F&amp;S).Its flagship products, Toumai Laparoscopic Surgical Robot, DFVision 3D Electronic Laparoscope and Honghu Orthopedic Surgical Robot, have all been admitted to the NMPA’s Green Path. Toumai and Honghu are at or near the registration approval stage, and DFVision has recently received NMPA approval.We have looked at the company’s background and products in our earlier note, MicroPort MedBot Pre-IPO - RoboDoc - pre-revenue, has a large competitor but a large market as well. In this note, we will talk about the PHIP updates and look at the performance of its largest competitor.

MicroPort MedBot Pre-IPO - RoboDoc - PHIP Updates and a Look at Its Largest Competitor

Asia Pac IPO & Placement Research, China biotech, Aequitas Research

Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

Asia Pac IPO & Placement Research, China biotech

Quantitative Analysis

<p>Hong Kong SFC reported aggregate short position as of Sep 17. The aggregate short value for equities decreased by $2,689m (-3.9%) WoW but increased by $2,234m (+3.5%) over the preceding four weeks.</p><p>Most shorted stocks by aggregate short value of positions are Ping An Insurance (Group) Company Of China, Ltd./2318 HK($3,288m, -11.6% WoW), China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd./3968 HK($2,378m, -13.4% WoW), Zhongsheng Group Holdings Limited/881 HK($1,846m, -5.8% WoW), Anta Sports Products Limited/2020 HK($1,503m, -8.7% WoW), Meituan/3690 HK($1,496m, -15.0% WoW).</p><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/232/084/original/Hong_Kong_Market_Short_Position_Value_%28line%29_and_1W_Changes_%28bar%29_%28%24m%292021-09-27+18_20_37.png?1632738370" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="232084"></figure></section>

Hong Kong SFC reported aggregate short position as of Sep 17. The aggregate short value for equities decreased by $2,689m (-3.9%) WoW but increased by $2,234m (+3.5%) over the preceding four weeks.Most shorted stocks by aggregate short value of positions are Ping An Insurance (Group) Company Of China, Ltd./2318 HK($3,288m, -11.6% WoW), China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd./3968 HK($2,378m, -13.4% WoW), Zhongsheng Group Holdings Limited/881 HK($1,846m, -5.8% WoW), Anta Sports Products Limited/2020 HK($1,503m, -8.7% WoW), Meituan/3690 HK($1,496m, -15.0% WoW).

HK Short Interest: Short Spiked for BeiGene

Global Emerging Market Equities, Propitious Research

Wium Malan, CFA

Global Emerging Market Equities

Independent, Fundamental Quantitative Research

Propitious Research

Fully independent, fundamental and quantitative equity research, focused on companies in the Telecommunication, Media, Technology, Internet and Healthcare sectors in the Global Emerging Markets. Idea generation focused on Quality stocks, trading below their intrinsic Value, with sound Corporate Governance.

<p><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/alibaba-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28434:1" rel="noopener">Alibaba Group (9988 HK)</a> has had a disastrous year, ever since the IPO of their FinTech arm, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ant-group-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24240:1" rel="noopener">Ant Financial Services Group (6688 HK)</a>, was pulled last minute in November 2020. Since then, they have faced continued regulatory hurdles, including an RMB18.2bn anti-monopoly fine, which has culminated in a 51% share price drop, since its November 2020 peak, which means that Alibaba is currently trading on only a 14.3x forward PE ratio. Given that this is nearly 4 standard deviations below its 5-year historical average trading range, and that this multiple would imply only a 0.72x PEG ratio, for a company with an extremely strong net cash balance sheet, delivering returns on capital well above its cost of capital, with positive free cash flow generation, and a $15bn share buyback program, indicates that there is a massive disconnect between long-term Buy-side expectations and near-term Sell-side estimates. </p><p>Looking at the reported group financials over this period it does not seem as though the regulatory impact has been that significant on core operations. The key concern, however, is that Alibaba is losing market share in its core businesses. </p><p>In this insight, I take a closer look at the broader Chinese retail market, as well as the Chinese digital advertising market (I estimate that Alibaba still generates more than 40% of its Chinese commerce revenue, and roughly 1/3<sup>rd</sup> of group revenue, from marketing activities), to analyse Alibaba’s relative revenue share loss. Finally, I also revisit current valuation levels and analyse what this implies for its Core Commerce operations.</p>

Alibaba Group (9988 HK) has had a disastrous year, ever since the IPO of their FinTech arm, Ant Financial Services Group (6688 HK), was pulled last minute in November 2020. Since then, they have faced continued regulatory hurdles, including an RMB18.2bn anti-monopoly fine, which has culminated in a 51% share price drop, since its November 2020 peak, which means that Alibaba is currently trading on only a 14.3x forward PE ratio. Given that this is nearly 4 standard deviations below its 5-year historical average trading range, and that this multiple would imply only a 0.72x PEG ratio, for a company with an extremely strong net cash balance sheet, delivering returns on capital well above its cost of capital, with positive free cash flow generation, and a $15bn share buyback program, indicates that there is a massive disconnect between long-term Buy-side expectations and near-term Sell-side estimates. Looking at the reported group financials over this period it does not seem as though the regulatory impact has been that significant on core operations. The key concern, however, is that Alibaba is losing market share in its core businesses. In this insight, I take a closer look at the broader Chinese retail market, as well as the Chinese digital advertising market (I estimate that Alibaba still generates more than 40% of its Chinese commerce revenue, and roughly 1/3rd of group revenue, from marketing activities), to analyse Alibaba’s relative revenue share loss. Finally, I also revisit current valuation levels and analyse what this implies for its Core Commerce operations.

Alibaba: How Much Core Market Share Loss Has Been Priced In?

<p>In our weekly HK Connect Flow series, we aim to highlight key stocks and sectors which the mainland investors traded via the southbound Hong Kong Connect, as analyzed by our proprietary data engine.</p><p>Since the opening of Hong Kong Connect scheme in 2014, southbound Chinese money started to play an increasingly important role in the Hong Kong stock market. In 2020, Southbound trading accounted for 22% of the equity market ADT. </p><p>We split the stocks eligible for the Hong Kong Connect trade into three groups: HSCEI component stocks, stocks with a market capitalization between USD 1 billion and USD 5 billion, and stocks with a market capitalization between USD 500 million and USD 1 billion.</p><p>In this insight, we will highlight inflows into Tencent Holdings Limited (700 HK), Wh Group Limited (288 HK), Kuaishou Technology (1024 HK), as well as outflows from Hong Kong Exchanges And Clearing Limited (388 HK), Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (981 HK), Anta Sports Products Limited (2020 HK).</p>

In our weekly HK Connect Flow series, we aim to highlight key stocks and sectors which the mainland investors traded via the southbound Hong Kong Connect, as analyzed by our proprietary data engine.Since the opening of Hong Kong Connect scheme in 2014, southbound Chinese money started to play an increasingly important role in the Hong Kong stock market. In 2020, Southbound trading accounted for 22% of the equity market ADT. We split the stocks eligible for the Hong Kong Connect trade into three groups: HSCEI component stocks, stocks with a market capitalization between USD 1 billion and USD 5 billion, and stocks with a market capitalization between USD 500 million and USD 1 billion.In this insight, we will highlight inflows into Tencent Holdings Limited (700 HK), Wh Group Limited (288 HK), Kuaishou Technology (1024 HK), as well as outflows from Hong Kong Exchanges And Clearing Limited (388 HK), Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (981 HK), Anta Sports Products Limited (2020 HK).

Hong Kong Connect Flows: Tencent, WH Group, Kuaishou

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)

TME: ByteDance’s Entry into Music Streaming to Further Threaten TME’s Dominance

ByteDance has made plans to launch a music streaming app in China later this year which is likely to further threaten TME's market dominance as it...

Shifara Samsudeen, FCMA, CGMA

MicroPort MedBot Pre-IPO - RoboDoc - PHIP Updates and a Look at Its Largest Competitor

MicroPort MedBot, a surgical robot company, aims to raise up to US$1bn in its Hong Kong IPO. It is a subsidiary of Microport Scientific (853 HK)...

Sumeet Singh

HK Short Interest: Short Spiked for BeiGene

We highlight in the latest SFC short aggregate report that the top five stocks by WoW increases in short value are Kuaishou, JD Health, BeiGene,...

Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

Hong Kong Connect Flows: Tencent, WH Group, Kuaishou

We highlight Hong Kong Connect Southbound inflows into Tencent (700 HK), WH Group (288 HK), Kuaishou (1024 HK), and outflows from HKEx (388 HK),...

Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

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52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

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TME: ByteDance’s Entry into Music Streaming to Further Threaten TME’s Dominance

ByteDance has made plans to launch a music streaming app in China later this year which is likely to further threaten TME's market dominance as it...

Shifara Samsudeen, FCMA, CGMA

MicroPort MedBot Pre-IPO - RoboDoc - PHIP Updates and a Look at Its Largest Competitor

MicroPort MedBot, a surgical robot company, aims to raise up to US$1bn in its Hong Kong IPO. It is a subsidiary of Microport Scientific (853 HK)...

Sumeet Singh

HK Short Interest: Short Spiked for BeiGene

We highlight in the latest SFC short aggregate report that the top five stocks by WoW increases in short value are Kuaishou, JD Health, BeiGene,...

Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

Alibaba: How Much Core Market Share Loss Has Been Priced In?

In this insight, I analyse Chinese retail sales and digital advertising market share changes and what is implied by Alibaba’s current valuation...

Wium Malan, CFA

Hong Kong Connect Flows: Tencent, WH Group, Kuaishou

We highlight Hong Kong Connect Southbound inflows into Tencent (700 HK), WH Group (288 HK), Kuaishou (1024 HK), and outflows from HKEx (388 HK),...

Ke Yan, CFA, FRM