Blue Lotus Research Institute

Andy Fu

China growth and global non-US Internet equities

Blue Lotus Research is a Hong Kong Type 4 Licensed investment advisory firm focusing on Chinese growth equities and global non-US Internet equities

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>2025's Chinese New Year (CNY)  closed with a bang. Home appliances, mobile phones and general merchandises were robust.  Catering saw steady growth and box office hit a record high;</li>
<li>Domestic travel was vibrant. So was inbound overseas travel. But outbound overseas travel was in the doldrums on several unfavorable incidents involving kidnapping in Thailand and flu in Japan; </li>
<li>We predict a 65% chance of a housing resurrection post CNY.  We observe an improvement in consumer sentiment as life gradually returning to normal. </li>
</ul>


2025's Chinese New Year (CNY)  closed with a bang. Home appliances, mobile phones and general merchandises were robust.  Catering saw steady growth and box office hit a record high;
Domestic travel was vibrant. So was inbound overseas travel. But outbound overseas travel was in the doldrums on several unfavorable incidents involving kidnapping in Thailand and flu in Japan; 
We predict a 65% chance of a housing resurrection post CNY.  We observe an improvement in consumer sentiment as life gradually returning to normal. 


2025's Chinese New Year Consumption Tiltering Towards the Positive

Blue Lotus Non US Internet research, Blue Lotus Research Institute

Ying Pan

Blue Lotus Non US Internet research

<ul>
<li>We believe Tencent's inclusion in the US DoD CMC List and removal from USTR's NML are both non-events in the long run but not in the short run;</li>
<li>Latest data in holiday travel, parcel volume and home sales painted robust start in 2025, but unstable equity market posts a looming threat;</li>
<li>NetEase's newly released games were well-received and above our expectations. New game pipeline also brightens outlook.</li>
</ul>


We believe Tencent's inclusion in the US DoD CMC List and removal from USTR's NML are both non-events in the long run but not in the short run;
Latest data in holiday travel, parcel volume and home sales painted robust start in 2025, but unstable equity market posts a looming threat;
NetEase's newly released games were well-received and above our expectations. New game pipeline also brightens outlook.


Blue Lotus Non-US Internet Weekly Wrap (2/2025): Tencent's Inclusion and Exclusion from US Sanctions

Blue Lotus China New Economy Research, Blue Lotus Research Institute

Eric Wen

Blue Lotus China New Economy Research

<ul>
<li>Inclusion of smartphone/tablet/smartwatch to trade-in subsidy will drive high single digit incremental growth for JD and Xiaomi, low single digit incremental growth for Alibaba in 2025;</li>
<li>New Year's Day transportation volume down, hotel consumption up, constituting a decent performance for a shorter holiday vs. last year. This bodes well for tourism for Chinese New Year; </li>
<li>China stepped up its signaling effort to Trump Administration that trade war measures will be retaliated. This week China added LFP battery technology to its own entity list.</li>
</ul>


Inclusion of smartphone/tablet/smartwatch to trade-in subsidy will drive high single digit incremental growth for JD and Xiaomi, low single digit incremental growth for Alibaba in 2025;
New Year's Day transportation volume down, hotel consumption up, constituting a decent performance for a shorter holiday vs. last year. This bodes well for tourism for Chinese New Year; 
China stepped up its signaling effort to Trump Administration that trade war measures will be retaliated. This week China added LFP battery technology to its own entity list.


China Growth Equity Weekly Wrap (1/2025): Xiaomi, JD, BABA, TRIP, ATAT, CATL, BYD, BEKE, Luckin, BZ

China New Economy Equity Analyst, Blue Lotus Research Institute

Robert McKay

China New Economy Equity Analyst

<ul>
<li>Following a year of pure low-price competition, e-commerce platforms are shifting towards providing better services to customers - the major focus of this upgrade has been logistics. </li>
<li>This shift has has manifested through (1) the opening of Taobao/Tmall's merchant back-end to JD Logistics, (2) the resurgence of O2O, and (3) algorithm weighting tilt towards higher-scoring merchants.</li>
<li>Amid this shift we prefer JD Logistics (2618 HK) followed by ZTO (ZTO US). We are most negative towards S.F. Holding (002352 CH) followed by J&amp;T Express (1519 HK).</li>
</ul>


Following a year of pure low-price competition, e-commerce platforms are shifting towards providing better services to customers - the major focus of this upgrade has been logistics. 
This shift has has manifested through (1) the opening of Taobao/Tmall's merchant back-end to JD Logistics, (2) the resurgence of O2O, and (3) algorithm weighting tilt towards higher-scoring merchants.
Amid this shift we prefer JD Logistics (2618 HK) followed by ZTO (ZTO US). We are most negative towards S.F. Holding (002352 CH) followed by J&amp;T Express (1519 HK).


Major Changes in China's Last-Mile Delivery Market: Who Wins, Who Loses?

Asian Equities Analyst, Logistics & Transport, Tracking Traffic

Daniel Hellberg

Asian Equities Analyst, Logistics & Transport

Tracking Traffic

Focusing on Asian logistics, transportation, and travel companies

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>In H126 J&amp;T Global reported strong top-line growth of almost 40% Y/Y vs H125</li>
<li>Growth was broad-based, and core adj EBITDA margin also showed solid Y/Y improvement</li>
<li>Overall, a nice set of numbers from J&amp;T Global in H1, but stock isn't cheap here</li>
</ul>


In H126 J&amp;T Global reported strong top-line growth of almost 40% Y/Y vs H125
Growth was broad-based, and core adj EBITDA margin also showed solid Y/Y improvement
Overall, a nice set of numbers from J&amp;T Global in H1, but stock isn't cheap here


J&T Global Express H126 Results: Firing on All Cylinders (But Not Cheap)

China

YTO Express Group Co., Ltd. provides global express services. The Company also provides general cargo warehousing, domestic air transport agency, car rental, supply chain management, and other related services throughout China..

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YTO Express (600233 CH)

2025's Chinese New Year Consumption Tiltering Towards the Positive

China's spring festival goods consumption sees solid growth and domestic tourism service thrives. Consumer sentiment increases slightly but income...

Blue Lotus Research Institute

Blue Lotus Non-US Internet Weekly Wrap (2/2025): Tencent's Inclusion and Exclusion from US Sanctions

Tencent's impact from CML and NML are short-term. Strong service start to 2025 showed promise. NetEase's games exceed expectations with promising...

Blue Lotus Research Institute

China Growth Equity Weekly Wrap (1/2025): Xiaomi, JD, BABA, TRIP, ATAT, CATL, BYD, BEKE, Luckin, BZ

Inclusion of smartphones in trade-in subsidy boosts growth for JD and Xiaomi, while China signals retaliation in trade war with US. Good signs for...

Blue Lotus Research Institute

Major Changes in China's Last-Mile Delivery Market: Who Wins, Who Loses?

E-commerce platforms are prioritizing better customer service through logistics upgrades, with JD Logistics and ZTO as top picks and S.F. Holding...

Blue Lotus Research Institute

J&T Global Express H126 Results: Firing on All Cylinders (But Not Cheap)

Strong growth from J&T Global in H126, with overall revenue up 40% and adj EBITDA up an impressive 68%. But shares appear to be trading on 20x FY26...

Tracking Traffic

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

2025's Chinese New Year Consumption Tiltering Towards the Positive

​China's spring festival goods consumption sees solid growth and domestic tourism service thrives. Consumer sentiment increases slightly but income...

Blue Lotus Research Institute

Blue Lotus Non-US Internet Weekly Wrap (2/2025): Tencent's Inclusion and Exclusion from US Sanctions

​Tencent's impact from CML and NML are short-term. Strong service start to 2025 showed promise. NetEase's games exceed expectations with promising...

Blue Lotus Research Institute

China Growth Equity Weekly Wrap (1/2025): Xiaomi, JD, BABA, TRIP, ATAT, CATL, BYD, BEKE, Luckin, BZ

​Inclusion of smartphones in trade-in subsidy boosts growth for JD and Xiaomi, while China signals retaliation in trade war with US. Good signs for...

Blue Lotus Research Institute

Major Changes in China's Last-Mile Delivery Market: Who Wins, Who Loses?

​E-commerce platforms are prioritizing better customer service through logistics upgrades, with JD Logistics and ZTO as top picks and S.F. Holding...

Blue Lotus Research Institute

J&T Global Express H126 Results: Firing on All Cylinders (But Not Cheap)

Strong growth from J&T Global in H126, with overall revenue up 40% and adj EBITDA up an impressive 68%. But shares appear to be trading on 20x FY26...

Tracking Traffic

China's spring festival goods consumption sees solid growth and domestic tourism service thrives. Consumer sentiment increases slightly but income...

Tencent's impact from CML and NML are short-term. Strong service start to 2025 showed promise. NetEase's games exceed expectations with promising...

Inclusion of smartphones in trade-in subsidy boosts growth for JD and Xiaomi, while China signals retaliation in trade war with US. Good signs for...

E-commerce platforms are prioritizing better customer service through logistics upgrades, with JD Logistics and ZTO as top picks and S.F. Holding...