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

Brian Freitas

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One

Event-Driven

Xpeng (9868 HK) listed in Hong Kong on 7 July was added to the Hang Seng Composite Index (HSCI) at the close of trading on 20 July. However, being a WVR security, the stock will not be eligible for Southbound Stock Connect till early 2022.Subject to passing the velocity test, we see Xpeng (9868 HK) as an inclusion in the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hang-seng-china-enterprises-index" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22900:1" rel="noopener">Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI INDEX)</a> at the December rebalance, replacing <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-evergrande-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:479:1" rel="noopener">Evergrande Real Estate Group (3333 HK)</a>.With Hang Seng Indexes treating the stock as a primary listing, HSCEI passive trackers will need to buy a large part of the stock that was offered in Hong Kong. This could push Xpeng (9868 HK) to trade at a premium to <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/xpeng-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:29217:1" rel="noopener">Xpeng (XPEV US)</a> and there will be arb opportunities which could result in conversion from the ADS to the HK listing.The inclusion of Xpeng (9868 HK) in the index will push the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hang-seng-china-enterprises-index" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22900:1" rel="noopener">Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI INDEX)</a> 2022 dividend futures lower. With the recent changes in China to companies looking to list on a foreign exchange, the HFCAA, and other structural changes to the index, we prefer a short position in the HSCEI 2022 dividend futures.

Xpeng (9868 HK) listed in Hong Kong on 7 July was added to the Hang Seng Composite Index (HSCI) at the close of trading on 20 July. However, being a WVR security, the stock will not be eligible for Southbound Stock Connect till early 2022.Subject to passing the velocity test, we see Xpeng (9868 HK) as an inclusion in the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI INDEX) at the December rebalance, replacing Evergrande Real Estate Group (3333 HK).With Hang Seng Indexes treating the stock as a primary listing, HSCEI passive trackers will need to buy a large part of the stock that was offered in Hong Kong. This could push Xpeng (9868 HK) to trade at a premium to Xpeng (XPEV US) and there will be arb opportunities which could result in conversion from the ADS to the HK listing.The inclusion of Xpeng (9868 HK) in the index will push the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI INDEX) 2022 dividend futures lower. With the recent changes in China to companies looking to list on a foreign exchange, the HFCAA, and other structural changes to the index, we prefer a short position in the HSCEI 2022 dividend futures.

Xpeng (9868 HK): Potential HSCEI Inclusion & Impact on 2022 Dividends

HK/China Equity Long-Short

Osbert Tang, CFA

Equity Bottom-Up

China Tourism Group Duty Free Corp Ltd / Equity Bottom-Up

We have expressed our positive view on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-tourism-group-duty-free-corp-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12278:1" rel="noopener">China Tourism Group Duty Free Corp Ltd (601888 CH)</a> in various Insights previously. In this Insight, we look at the proposed H-share IPO from the perspective of investors who do not know it well. For seasoned investors in this name, this Insight serves as a summary of our views and provides background details on the proposed IPO.Fundamentally speaking, the key positives for CTG Duty Free are: 1.) absolute leadership in China's duty free market, 2.) encouraging growth outlook, and 3.) solid profitability and financial position. Key negatives are: 1.) policy risk and rising competition, 2.) concern on payback of new projects, and 3.) risk of overseas expansion. If the IPO is being priced at the current average H-A discount, it will be on 32.7x FY21F PER, we see this not expensive relative to the premium retailers listed in Hong Kong.

We have expressed our positive view on China Tourism Group Duty Free Corp Ltd (601888 CH) in various Insights previously. In this Insight, we look at the proposed H-share IPO from the perspective of investors who do not know it well. For seasoned investors in this name, this Insight serves as a summary of our views and provides background details on the proposed IPO.Fundamentally speaking, the key positives for CTG Duty Free are: 1.) absolute leadership in China's duty free market, 2.) encouraging growth outlook, and 3.) solid profitability and financial position. Key negatives are: 1.) policy risk and rising competition, 2.) concern on payback of new projects, and 3.) risk of overseas expansion. If the IPO is being priced at the current average H-A discount, it will be on 32.7x FY21F PER, we see this not expensive relative to the premium retailers listed in Hong Kong. 

CTG Duty Free (601888 CH) H-Share Pre-IPO: Fundamentally Speaking

Hang Seng Indexes has increased the number of index shares and free float for <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/alibaba-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28434:1" rel="noopener">Alibaba Group (9988 HK)</a> in 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>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hang-seng-china-enterprises-index" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22900:1" rel="noopener">Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI INDEX)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hang-seng-tech-index" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:31367:1" rel="noopener">Hang Seng Tech Index (HSTECH INDEX)</a>, with no change made to the capping factor.This will lead to an increase in the index weight for <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/alibaba-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28434:1" rel="noopener">Alibaba Group (9988 HK)</a> and passive funds benchmarked to the indices will need to buy the stock at the close of trading on 16 July while selling the other index constituents.For July, we estimate passive funds will need to buy 45.52m shares (HK$9.34bn; 2 days of ADV) of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/alibaba-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28434:1" rel="noopener">Alibaba Group (9988 HK)</a>. The largest impact of passive selling in terms of days of ADV will be on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hsbc-holdings-plc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:516:1" rel="noopener">HSBC Holdings (5 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/clp-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:14433:1" rel="noopener">CLP Holdings (2 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-construction-bank-h" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:45:1" rel="noopener">China Construction Bank H (939 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hang-lung-properties-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:49:1" rel="noopener">Hang Lung Properties (101 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/country-garden-holdings-co" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:5225:1" rel="noopener">Country Garden Holdings Co (2007 HK)</a>.However, passive funds will need to sell <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/alibaba-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28434:1" rel="noopener">Alibaba Group (9988 HK)</a> at the implementation of the quarterly rebalance in September when the capping factor will be lowered to cap the weight of the stock at 8% in the three indices.

Hang Seng Indexes has increased the number of index shares and free float for Alibaba Group (9988 HK) in the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index (HSI INDEX), Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI INDEX) and Hang Seng Tech Index (HSTECH INDEX), with no change made to the capping factor.This will lead to an increase in the index weight for Alibaba Group (9988 HK) and passive funds benchmarked to the indices will need to buy the stock at the close of trading on 16 July while selling the other index constituents.For July, we estimate passive funds will need to buy 45.52m shares (HK$9.34bn; 2 days of ADV) of Alibaba Group (9988 HK). The largest impact of passive selling in terms of days of ADV will be on HSBC Holdings (5 HK), CLP Holdings (2 HK), China Construction Bank H (939 HK), Hang Lung Properties (101 HK) and Country Garden Holdings Co (2007 HK).However, passive funds will need to sell Alibaba Group (9988 HK) at the implementation of the quarterly rebalance in September when the capping factor will be lowered to cap the weight of the stock at 8% in the three indices.

Alibaba (9988 HK): Passive Inflow from HSI, HSCEI, HSTECH Trackers in July

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

Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

Asia Pac IPO & Placement Research, China biotech

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.

Quantitative Analysis

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 a Hong Kong exchange report released in July 2019, the exchange highlighted that flows from mainland China accounted for 12% of the total trading volume in the market and is ahead of the US investors' 10% and UK investors' 7% share respectively.  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 <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/li-ning-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6047:1" rel="noopener">Li Ning Co Ltd (2331 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/meituan-dianping" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26970:1" rel="noopener">Meituan (3690 HK)</a>, as well as outflows from  <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tencent-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26:1" rel="noopener">Tencent (700 HK)</a>.

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 a Hong Kong exchange report released in July 2019, the exchange highlighted that flows from mainland China accounted for 12% of the total trading volume in the market and is ahead of the US investors' 10% and UK investors' 7% share respectively.   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 Li Ning Co Ltd (2331 HK), Meituan (3690 HK), as well as outflows from  Tencent (700 HK).

Founder of Antler Capital

Stanley Tsai, CFA

Macroeconomics

Industrial profits round out the macro data releases for the month. Overall, the numbers are in line with expectations, but if we look past the impact of commodity price dislocations, earnings outlook is decidedly less sanguine (Exhibit 1).
Headline industrial earnings reinforce the trends in PPI we saw earlier in the month. The 20% two-year CAGR in May was driven mainly by higher factory gate prices. Unit sales growth remained anemic and reflects weaker-than-expected infrastructure capex, exports and consumer spending. 
The upstream resource extraction industry continued to benefit from the commodities boom. Profitability gains from price hikes have more than offset low transaction volumes. This significant distortion has prompted Beijing's recent interventions. We believe margins may have topped out for the upstream producers and we will be looking at progressively tougher comps ahead.
The midstream refiners and equipment manufacturers vary in their ability to pass on price hikes to their customers. Earnings growth slowed for ferrous metals and accelerated for non-ferrous metals for this reason. In any case, margins have risen to a recent high for the sector as a whole and are set to narrow. Equipment producers have led the retreat thus far.
The logical pecking order going forward would seem to be downstream &gt; midstream &gt; upstream. We believe there is a strong case for cyclicals and discretionaries as input prices ease. And more earnings upgrades may be in the works following in Li Ning <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/li-ning-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6047:1" rel="noopener">(2331 HK)</a>'s footsteps. CPI still looks benign for the time being, but we would keep an eye out for a rebound in food prices. The recent recovery in pork prices - coupled with an unusually dry season globally - could make for a nasty surprise.
<table class="table table-striped">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%;">Exhibit 1: Monthly Industrial Profits by Sector | % ∆ y/y </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%;">
<figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/215/821/original/image_984775689201624923389813.png?1624923389" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="215821"></figure>
Note: Growth rates = 2Y CAGR
Source: National Bureau of Statistics, Our analysis
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Related Insights
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/china-financials-silver-linings-playbook" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:53013" rel="noopener">China Financials: Silver Linings Playbook</a></li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/china-properties-like-clockwork-real-estate-investments-haven-t-skipped-a-beat" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:53590" rel="noopener">China Properties: Like Clockwork, Real Estate Investments Haven't Skipped a Beat</a> </li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/china-macro-ppi-peaks-while-cpi-eases-tightening-fears" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:52778" rel="noopener">China Macro: PPI Peaks, while CPI Eases Tightening Fears</a> </li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/china-macro-consumers-remain-on-the-sidelines-as-their-home-equity-grows" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:53210" rel="noopener">China Macro: Consumers Remain on the Sidelines, as Their Home Equity Grows</a> </li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/china-macro-exports-disappoint-but-it-s-still-early-in-the-game" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:52728" rel="noopener">China Macro: Exports Disappoint, but It's Still Early in the Game</a> </li>
</ul>

Industrial profits round out the macro data releases for the month. Overall, the numbers are in line with expectations, but if we look past the impact of commodity price dislocations, earnings outlook is decidedly less sanguine (Exhibit 1).
Headline industrial earnings reinforce the trends in PPI we saw earlier in the month. The 20% two-year CAGR in May was driven mainly by higher factory gate prices. Unit sales growth remained anemic and reflects weaker-than-expected infrastructure capex, exports and consumer spending. 
The upstream resource extraction industry continued to benefit from the commodities boom. Profitability gains from price hikes have more than offset low transaction volumes. This significant distortion has prompted Beijing's recent interventions. We believe margins may have topped out for the upstream producers and we will be looking at progressively tougher comps ahead.
The midstream refiners and equipment manufacturers vary in their ability to pass on price hikes to their customers. Earnings growth slowed for ferrous metals and accelerated for non-ferrous metals for this reason. In any case, margins have risen to a recent high for the sector as a whole and are set to narrow. Equipment producers have led the retreat thus far.
The logical pecking order going forward would seem to be downstream &gt; midstream &gt; upstream. We believe there is a strong case for cyclicals and discretionaries as input prices ease. And more earnings upgrades may be in the works following in Li Ning (2331 HK)'s footsteps. CPI still looks benign for the time being, but we would keep an eye out for a rebound in food prices. The recent recovery in pork prices - coupled with an unusually dry season globally - could make for a nasty surprise.



Exhibit 1: Monthly Industrial Profits by Sector | % ∆ y/y 




Note: Growth rates = 2Y CAGR
Source: National Bureau of Statistics, Our analysis




Related Insights

China Financials: Silver Linings Playbook

China Properties: Like Clockwork, Real Estate Investments Haven't Skipped a Beat 

China Macro: PPI Peaks, while CPI Eases Tightening Fears 

China Macro: Consumers Remain on the Sidelines, as Their Home Equity Grows 

China Macro: Exports Disappoint, but It's Still Early in the Game 


China Macro: Profits Flowing Gently Down the Stream

China

Li Ning Company Limited researches, designs, manufactures, distributes, and retails sports footwear, apparel and accessories for sport and leisure use.

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Li Ning (2331 HK)

Xpeng (9868 HK): Potential HSCEI Inclusion & Impact on 2022 Dividends

Xpeng (9868 HK) could be added to the HSCEI in December. Limited liquidity in HK could create arb opportunities with XPEV US. Xpeng index inclusion...

Brian Freitas

Alibaba (9988 HK): Passive Inflow from HSI, HSCEI, HSTECH Trackers in July

Following an increase in the number of CCASS shares and free float, Alibaba's index shares will be increased. Passive HSI/ HSCEI/ HSTECH trackers...

Brian Freitas

Hong Kong Connect Flows: Li Ning Inflows

We will highlight weekly Hong Kong Connect inflows into Li Ning Company Limited (2331 HK), Meituan (3690 HK), and outflows from Tencent Holdings...

Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

China Macro: Profits Flowing Gently Down the Stream

Last month’s industrial profits were in line, but if we look past the impact of commodity price dislocations, earnings outlook is decidedly less...

Stanley Tsai, CFA

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

Xpeng (9868 HK): Potential HSCEI Inclusion & Impact on 2022 Dividends

Xpeng (9868 HK) could be added to the HSCEI in December. Limited liquidity in HK could create arb opportunities with XPEV US. Xpeng index inclusion...

Brian Freitas

CTG Duty Free (601888 CH) H-Share Pre-IPO: Fundamentally Speaking

In relation to CTG Duty Free's H-share IPO, key positives are: 1.) absolute leadership in China's duty free market, 2.) encouraging growth outlook,...

Osbert Tang, CFA

Alibaba (9988 HK): Passive Inflow from HSI, HSCEI, HSTECH Trackers in July

Following an increase in the number of CCASS shares and free float, Alibaba's index shares will be increased. Passive HSI/ HSCEI/ HSTECH trackers...

Brian Freitas

Hong Kong Connect Flows: Li Ning Inflows

We will highlight weekly Hong Kong Connect inflows into Li Ning Company Limited (2331 HK), Meituan (3690 HK), and outflows from Tencent Holdings...

Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

China Macro: Profits Flowing Gently Down the Stream

Last month’s industrial profits were in line, but if we look past the impact of commodity price dislocations, earnings outlook is decidedly less...

Stanley Tsai, CFA