Insight Provider, CrossASEAN Research

Nicolas Van Broekhoven

Insight Provider

CrossASEAN Research

At CrossASEAN Research we strive to produce unbiased and differentiated on the ground insights on companies across South East Asia. Our Research is produced for the most part after face to face meetings and conversations with company management to dig deep into the long term vision and strategy of the companies we cover. We seek to deliver investable and actionable themes on sectors and markets across SE Asia, often in collaboration with other Insight Providers across the region, pooling the vast experience of the analysts within the Smartkarma Ecosystem. We also offer bespoke work and tailor made trips for our clients. 

Insights across South East Asia

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>The 2023 vintage of "5 High Conviction Ideas" was commodity heavy with 4 of our 5 picks coming from this sector. Three out of five declined between 15-25%. </li>
<li>Our best performer was unloved <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/mongolian-mining-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:4382:1" rel="noopener">Mongolian Mining (975 HK)</a> which returned 234% even beating <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/nvidia-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:5891:1" rel="noopener">NVIDIA Corp (NVDA US)</a> YTD performance.  Miracles happen: Coal mining beats AI.</li>
<li>Our 2024 vintage of top ideas for the year will hopefully have a higher hit ratio. See below for more details which are our five high conviction ideas for 2024.</li>
</ul>


The 2023 vintage of "5 High Conviction Ideas" was commodity heavy with 4 of our 5 picks coming from this sector. Three out of five declined between 15-25%. 
Our best performer was unloved Mongolian Mining (975 HK) which returned 234% even beating NVIDIA Corp (NVDA US) YTD performance.  Miracles happen: Coal mining beats AI.
Our 2024 vintage of top ideas for the year will hopefully have a higher hit ratio. See below for more details which are our five high conviction ideas for 2024.


Overview of My Winners and Losers in 2023...and 5 High Conviction Ideas Going Into 2024

Smartkarma AI Primers, Smartkarma

αSK Primers

Smartkarma AI Primers

Smartkarma

Smartkarma unites the fragmented investment industry, connecting institutional investors, independent research providers, and corporates within a single network.

Research Reinvented

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
 <li>The company is facing a significant headwind with the non-renewal of its cornerstone Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) license, effective after December 31, 2026, which has historically accounted for a substantial portion of revenue.</li>
 <li>Financial performance has deteriorated sharply, with the company swinging from a significant profit in 2024 to a net loss in 2025, driven by a steep revenue decline, margin pressure from U.S. tariffs, and the absence of major movie tie-ins.</li>
 <li>Valuation appears distressed with a low Price-to-Book ratio and negative EV/Sales, reflecting significant investor concern over future profitability and the strategic void left by the TMNT license loss.</li>
</ul>This content is AI-generated and displayed for general informational purposes only. Please verify independently before use.


  The company is facing a significant headwind with the non-renewal of its cornerstone Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) license, effective after December 31, 2026, which has historically accounted for a substantial portion of revenue.
  Financial performance has deteriorated sharply, with the company swinging from a significant profit in 2024 to a net loss in 2025, driven by a steep revenue decline, margin pressure from U.S. tariffs, and the absence of major movie tie-ins.
  Valuation appears distressed with a low Price-to-Book ratio and negative EV/Sales, reflecting significant investor concern over future profitability and the strategic void left by the TMNT license loss.
This content is AI-generated and displayed for general informational purposes only. Please verify independently before use.

Primer: Playmates Toys (869 HK) - Aug 2026

Fundamental Analyses, Contrarian Cashflows

Contrarian Cashflows

Fundamental Analyses

The purpose of Contrarian Cashflows is to document my investment research and share it with everyone who is interested in value investing. My long term aspiration for Contrarian Cashflows is to become a platform for professional investors and serious amateurs where they can get inspiration and discuss investing-related topics.
I plan to publish one company deep dive per month that is guided by my investment approach. All information I use for my write-ups is publicly available and most of the time directly sourced from public filings issued by the respective companies. To guarantee maximum transparency, for every post I provide a list of all used sources in the resources section.
Contrarian Cashflows is built around the principles of respect, honesty, open-mindedness and a touch of humour. Please consider these principles in any engagement interaction with me, other readers and the content on this blog. Misbehaviour is not tolerated.
If you want to reach out to me directly, the best way is via LinkedIn, Twitter or email. You can find the details at my homepage contrariancashflows.com

<ul><li>This is your Monday morning dose of inspiration. Each week, I’ll share five intriguing investment ideas that recently caught my attention.</li><li>These ideas are meant to spark your research and help you kickstart the week ahead with fresh insights.</li><li>Because these ideas are the result of my first-level idea generation process, they require more in depth research.</li></ul>

This is your Monday morning dose of inspiration. Each week, I’ll share five intriguing investment ideas that recently caught my attention.These ideas are meant to spark your research and help you kickstart the week ahead with fresh insights.Because these ideas are the result of my first-level idea generation process, they require more in depth research.

HK/China Healthcare Analyst (ex-Fosun Pharma)

Xinyao (Criss) Wang

Equity Capital Markets

<ul>
<li>The key for high growth in 2023/24Q1 lies in its assembly character toys with renowned IPs,which may not be sustainable or even collapse if Bloks fails to renew license agreements.</li>
<li>The advantages of Bloks in development prospects, self-developed IPs, brand stickiness are not obvious. The latest valuation reached RMB7.2 billion, but the founder has already cashed out before IPO. </li>
<li>Hong Kong stock market has been “lukewarm” to toy companies. Except Pop Mart, valuation/share price of peers are quite weak.How to gain investor/market’s recognition for Bloks is a question mark.</li>
</ul>


The key for high growth in 2023/24Q1 lies in its assembly character toys with renowned IPs,which may not be sustainable or even collapse if Bloks fails to renew license agreements.
The advantages of Bloks in development prospects, self-developed IPs, brand stickiness are not obvious. The latest valuation reached RMB7.2 billion, but the founder has already cashed out before IPO. 
Hong Kong stock market has been “lukewarm” to toy companies. Except Pop Mart, valuation/share price of peers are quite weak.How to gain investor/market’s recognition for Bloks is a question mark.


Pre-IPO Bloks Group - High Growth May Not Be Sustainable

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.

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kayou" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:40875:1" rel="noopener">Kayou</a> is looking to raise up to US$500m in its upcoming HK IPO.</li>
<li>Kayou is a Chinese pan-entertainment product retailer of toys, with trading cards in particular as its core product.</li>
<li>In this note, we talk about the not-so-positive aspects of the deal.</li>
</ul>



Kayou is looking to raise up to US$500m in its upcoming HK IPO.
Kayou is a Chinese pan-entertainment product retailer of toys, with trading cards in particular as its core product.
In this note, we talk about the not-so-positive aspects of the deal.


Kayou Pre-IPO - The Negatives - Unexplained 9M23 Slump

Hong Kong

Playmates Toys is a Hong Kong-based company that designs, develops, markets, and distributes a wide range of toys and family entertainment products globally. The company is known for its action figures and dolls, including popular brands like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Godzilla, and Miraculous Ladybug. Founded in Hong Kong in 1966, Playmates Toys Limited maintains its headquarters there.

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Playmates Toys (869 HK)

Overview of My Winners and Losers in 2023...and 5 High Conviction Ideas Going Into 2024

Our stand-out performer in FY23 was little loved Mongolia Mining. For FY24 we provide five new names which we think can perform strongly.

Nicolas Van Broekhoven

Primer: Playmates Toys (869 HK) - Aug 2026

The company is facing a significant headwind with the non-renewal of its cornerstone Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) license, effective...

αSK Primers

Monday Delight: 09/06/25

This is your Monday morning dose of inspiration. Each week, I’ll share five intriguing investment ideas that recently caught my...

Contrarian Cashflows

Pre-IPO Bloks Group - High Growth May Not Be Sustainable

High growth for Bloks in 2023/24Q1 hinges on assembly character toys with renowned IPs, but sustainability is uncertain due to potential license...

Xinyao (Criss) Wang

Kayou Pre-IPO - The Negatives - Unexplained 9M23 Slump

Kayou is looking to raise up to US$500m in its upcoming HK IPO. In this note, we talk about the not-so-positive aspects of the deal.

Sumeet Singh

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