Daily Brief Consumer: Alibaba, Lalithaa Jewellery Mart Ltd, Qdama International Holding, Ethos, Junlebao Dairy Group and more

• Alibaba (9988 HK) / Alibaba (BABA US) has announced a placement of HK$80bn (US$10.2bn) to invest in its full stack AI capabilities and to expand and enhance its AI infrastructure.
• The shares are being offered at HK$112.7/share, an 8.4% discount to the Alibaba (9988 HK) close and a 3.6% discount to the Alibaba (BABA US) close.
• There will be passive buying from trackers of one global index later this week, while trackers of the other global index will buy in November. No impact for local indices.

• Alibaba (9988 HK)  is looking to raise around US$10bn to fund its AI spending.
• Alibaba (BABA US) recently reported its 1H26 results, with elevated AI capex and negative free cash flows.
• In this note, we will talk about the placement and run the deal through our ECM framework.

• Aequitas Research’s weekly update on the IPOs, placements, lockup expiry and other ECM linked events that were covered by the team over the past week.
• On the IPO front, SHEIN Global Holdings (SHEIN HK) is set to launch this week/today, as per media reports, while deal in India continue to flow in.
• On the placement front, Alibaba (9988 HK) launched the largest HK primary raising yet on Sunday. 

• Lalithaa Jewellery Mart Ltd (1607844D IN) raised INR 17 billion in its IPO,which is a combination of fresh issue of INR 12 billion and offer for sale of INR 5billion.
• The company is jewelery retailer with a strong regional presence across South India, catering primarily to the mass and value-conscious customer segment.
• We had discussed about ground feedback from Chennai – Lalitha Jewellery IPO – On Ground Feedback From Chennai . This insight discusses about listing dynamics.

• Qdama International Holding Ltd. is China’s largest community-based fresh product chain, operating primarily through a franchise model, offering fresh products and known for its ‘no overnight meat’ commitment.
• Qdama is China’s largest community-based fresh product chain, with GMV reaching RMB14.3 billion in 2025 and 3,014 stores as of June 30, 2026.
• Qdama reported RMB11,744,089 revenue in 2023, RMB295,767 adjusted net profit in 2025, and accumulated losses of RMB2,719.1 million as of June 30, 2026.

This content is AI-generated and displayed for general informational purposes only. Please verify independently before use.

• Ethos has crossed 100 boutiques, Q1 FY27 revenue grew 33.3%, and owned brand Favre Leuba is entering its commercial scale-up phase.
• Owned and exclusive brands can offer better economics, differentiation and global optionality than conventional authorised retail.
• The thesis is no longer only store-led growth; investors must separately value retail execution and the risk-adjusted option value of brand ownership.

• Inflection Point in Raw Milk Deflation: Farm-gate raw milk prices in China have stabilized around the 3.02 to 3.04 yuan/kg range and recently broke above the 3.05 yuan/kg floor in late July 2026. This recovery, supported by aggressive upstream cow culling and lower feed costs, is driving a financial turnaround for major farming operations. However, a structural return to high prices is unlikely due to persistent domestic oversupply and weak consumer sentiment.
• Chilled Liquid Milk as the Core Growth Engine: Junlebao is successfully navigating the steep decline in China’s infant formula sector—which fell to 22.1% of company revenue in late 2025—by pivoting to chilled liquid milk and premium fresh milk. Their flagship fresh milk brand, Yuexianhuo, generated 2.04 billion yuan in H1 2026, registering a 55.4% year-on-year growth rate and securing more than 50% of the high-end fresh milk market.
• High Leverage and Balance Sheet Strain: Despite solid operational growth in H1 2026, with revenue reaching 10.61 billion yuan, Junlebao faces severe capital allocation constraints. Its debt-to-asset ratio stood at 77.1% as of late 2025, significantly exceeding the industry average of approximately 45%. Post-IPO, the primary capital allocation challenge will be addressing its net current liabilities and integrating the heavy capital expenditures of its 63% self-sufficient upstream pasture model.