China

• Following the positive response to our article on Perfect Medical , we are keen to introduce our readers to another noteworthy company in the healthcare and beauty industry, Water Oasis.
• Despite initial appearances suggesting sluggish revenue growth over the past decade, a deeper examination reveals significant improvements in business quality and consistent shareholder returns through substantial dividends.
• This under-the-radar company, we believe, presents an attractive risk-reward profile.

• A week ahead of trial, a defendant in massive fraud case copped a plea
• Terms of deal include guilty plea, asset forfeiture, restitution of US$158 mn
• US investigation continues; are other Chinese companies involved in case?

• The New/Better A-H Premium Tracker has tables, charts, measures galore to track A/H premium positioning, southbound and northbound positioning/volatility in pairs over time, etc.
• SOUTHBOUND’s consecutive buying streak ended on Monday 25-March, then started again. NORTHBOUND has started selling (but buying semi tech).
• Hs rebounded vs As. AH Premia still wide. Fabulous two-week performance by the Quiddity Portfolio (+2.09% over the two weeks) on a delta 3:1 long H/short A

• Baicha Baidao’s profit model doesn’t rely on tea drink sales, but on continuous expansion of store size.However, rapid expansion brought by the franchise model has led to significant management challenges.
• The profitability/market attractiveness of ChaPanda stores are declining, which not only reflects franchisees’ concerns about future profit prospects,but also reflects the market’s re-evaluation of the attractiveness of Baicha Baidao brand.
• Although current financial performance of Baicha Baidao seems acceptable, after IPO, its performance could decline year by year, leading to a collapse in stock price/valuation if this is the case.

• The Quiddity Mainland Connect NORTHBOUND Monitor. Like the A/H Premium Monitor and HK Connect SOUTHBOUND Monitor. Lots of Flows/Position Tables and Charts with which to play.
• Last week saw NORTHBOUND net SELL RMB 11.5bn of A-shares on low-ish volume. A-shares underperformed H-shares quite dramatically, giving back gains from two weeks ago.
• This week saw considerable net buying of semiconductor technology names. I expect that to continue.

• In 2023, CanSino Biologics (688185 CH) generated revenue of RMB561.7 million from the sales of meningococcal conjugate vaccines, up 266% YoY.
• This year, consensus is expecting CanSino to report revenue of RMB858 million, up whopping 140% YoY, mainly driven by meningococcal vaccines.
• CanSino is expected to add pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) vaccine in its revenue stream in 2025. The company’s PCV13i is a potential best-in-class improved PCV13.

• Orient Overseas International (316 HK) saw 27.2% QoQ freight rate uptick in 1Q24. This is a positive start and we should not be too concerned about the 12% YoY decline.
• Its overall load factor also expanded 0.9pp YoY in the quarter, and this is the first YoY improvement since 2Q22. A better utilisation level is good for unit costs.
• At end-FY23, net cash equals 62.4% of the share price, dragging ROE to 7.5% for the next three years. But with such solid financials, its 0.7x P/B is not expensive.

• Masked by a high base, 4Q FY24 sales of Sa Sa International Hldgs (178 HK) edged down by 4.1% YoY. However, sales for mainland China have increased by 18.2%.
• Overall sales for FY24 are in line with market projections and there is potential for further margin expansion. Its 6.7x and 5.9x PERs for FY25F and FY26F are inexpensive.
• The addition of more mainland cities to the Hong Kong individual visit scheme, promotion of Hong Kong tourism, and weaker USD in the medium term are all positive factors.

• China plans to issue ultra long-term special treasury bond (about RMB1 trillion) to promote large-scale medical equipment renewal, which is expected to boost domestic demand in medical device sector. 
• Various regions (e.g. Beijing, Hainan, Guangzhou, Zhuhai) have issued separate supporting policies for innovative drug industry. It may be too early to completely lose hope of Chinese innovative drugs.
• There is “horizontal competition” issue between Taiji and Shanghai Shyndec Pharmaceutical (600420 CH), which is the underlying logic for potential spin-offs and integrations within Taiji and China TCM before 2025.

Lucror Analytics Morning Views comprise our fundamental credit analysis, opinions and trade recommendations on high yield issuers in the region, based on key company-specific developments in the past 24 hours. Our Morning Views include a section with a brief market commentary, key market indicators and a macroeconomic and corporate event calendar.

• Anton Oilfield
• Greentown China

• Golden Throat Holdings is a gem. It has excellent fundamentals including an eye-catching dividend yield (17.9% in 2023) and a blistering DPS growth (10x from 2020 to 2023). 
• It also benefits from a compelling long-term theme (relieving sore throats caused by worsening air quality/smog/fine dust problems along with recurrent regular cold/flu symptoms among millions of people in China). 
• Golden Throat Holdings is one of the leading throat lozenges manufacturers in China. Its net margin averaged 24% from 2019 to 2023.

• A weekly summary of key developments across ECM and Event-Driven names tracked by us across Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, India and Chinese ADRs.
• ECM developments: Kokusai Electric (6525 JP) and J&T Global Express (1519 HK) lock-ups. HD Hyundai Marine Solution (443060 KS), ZEEKR (ZK US)and Sichuan Baicha Baidao Industrial (SCBCBDID CH) IPOs.
• Event-Driven developments L’Occitane (973 HK), CGN New Energy Holdings (1811 HK), Azure Minerals (AZS AU), Genex Power Ltd (GNX AU), Riso Kyoiku (4714 JP), Chilled & Frozen Logistics Holdings (9099 JP). 

• Another week, another rumoured (from Bloomberg) takeover. This time it’s for clean energy play CGN New Energy Holdings (1811 HK).
• Back in 2020, CGN was subject to a potential privatisation from its SOE-parent – see CGN New Energy: The Latest SOE Clean Energy Play – but it failed to materialise.
• A couple of years back, a “valuation system with Chinese characteristics” had the media discussing whether this implied a premium for SOEs and companies aligned with national goals.

• Sichuan Baicha Baidao Industrial (SCBCBDID CH), a leading freshly made tea drinks company, will launch an HKEx IPO to raise US$300 million next week, according to press reports.
• In Baicha Baidao IPO: The Bull Case, we highlighted the key elements of the bull case. In this note, we outline the bear case.
• The bear case rests on pedestrian store KPIs, unsustainable historical growth rates, declining contract liabilities, and margin pressure reflecting a fiercely competitive market.

• Sinopharm Group Co Ltd H (1099 HK) reported YoY and sequential growth in revenue and net profit in 4Q23. However, outlook for the sector remains bleak in near-term.
• Last year, Sinopharm’s distribution business was impacted by anti-corruption campaign. The momentum of the campaign continues in this year also. This lowers conviction toward improving performance in 1H24 at least.
• Despite of mid-single digit revenue growth, Sinopharm’s margin remains stagnant or is declining. Sinopharm still earns more than 70% revenue from low margin earning pharmaceutical distribution business.

• The Supply/ Demand imbalance in tankers will persist for longer, supporting earnings
• A beneficiary of increased global tensions and higher oil and gas prices
• Proposed Stock option scheme incentives management in the right way

• We expect Alibaba to report CY1Q24 top-line, non-GAAP EBITA and non-GAAP net income in-line, (14.2%) and (7.4%) vs. consensus. We cut non-GAAP EBITA by 10% and kept topline unchanged;
• BABA is prioritizing growth of both AliCloud and cross-border ecommerce (AliExpress), which will weaken profitability in the near-term but is the right thing to do. 
• BABA is transforming itself into Chinese Microsoft with hopes of e-commerce mainly pinned on overseas. We maintain BUY and US$ 85 TP, implying 9.5x CY24 P/E.

• Bloomberg reports that CGN, the parent and largest shareholder, is reconsidering taking CGN New Energy Holdings (1811 HK) private. 
• CGN New Energy shares have underperformed the median peer’s shares since the announcement of CGN’s previous aborted privatisation attempt (2 March 2020) and on the last twelve-month basis.
• The probability of an offer is high as CGN, an SOE has access to financing, and CGN New Energy’s valuation is low. We estimate a potential offer range of HK$2.80-4.30.

• Melco International (200 HK) gains as Lawrence Ho increases his position. Melco and 51.1%-held Melco Resorts (MLCO US) are the two worst performing gaming stocks over the past year.
• Preceding my comments on Melco are the current setup/unwind tables for Asia-Pacific Holdcos.
• These relationships trade with a minimum liquidity of US$1mn, and a % market capitalisation >20%.

• Sichuan Baicha Baidao Industrial (SCBCBDID CH), a leading freshly made tea drinks company, will launch an HKEx IPO to raise US$300 million next week, according to press reports. 
• Biacha is China’s third largest freshly-made tea shop company in terms of retail sales value in 2023, according to Frost & Sullivan.
• The bull case rests on a rising market share, high revenue growth, sector-leading margins, cash generation and a strong balance sheet. 

• Despite YTD strengths in share price, Cosco Shipping Energy Transportation Co. Ltd. (H) (1138 HK) is still cheap at 5.7x PER and 0.9x P/B.
• VLCC is forecast to stay undersupplied in FY24 and FY25, supporting the rates and CSET’s profitability. YTD, the VLCC rates have recovered by 19.5%.
• LNG transportation generated 19% of FY23 earnings. With 40 more vessels on order, compared with a current fleet of 43, there is immense upside from this segment.

Lucror Analytics Morning Views comprise our fundamental credit analysis, opinions and trade recommendations on high yield issuers in the region, based on key company-specific developments in the past 24 hours. Our Morning Views include a section with a brief market commentary, key market indicators and a macroeconomic and corporate event calendar.

• China Jinmao Holdings
• Yuexiu Property

• STAR 50 Index is a tech-focused, blue-chip index in Mainland China which tracks the top 50 largest and most liquid names in the STAR market of the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
• In this insight, we take a look at our expectations for potential ADDs and DELs for the STAR 50 index during the June 2024 index rebal event.
• I currently expect three changes resulting in a one-way flow of around US$531mn but there is still room for the expectations to change.

• With the review period nearing completion, 6 stocks are in inclusion zone and 8 are in deletion zone. However, there can be a maximum of 5 changes at a review.
• We estimate a one-way turnover of 7% at the June rebalance leading to a one-way trade of CNY 9.7bn (US$1.34bn). Index arb balances could increase the impact on the stocks.
• The inflows into mainland China ETFs have further increased the flow and impact on the potential changes. The potential adds have continued to outperform the potential deletes.

• The ChiNext Index represents the performance of the 100 largest and most liquid A-share stocks listed on the ChiNext Market of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
• The ChiNext 50 index is a subset of the ChiNext Index and it consists of the top 50 names in the ChiNext index with the highest daily average turnover.
• In this insight, we take a look at the names leading the race to become ADDs and DELs in the June 2024 index rebal event.

• Shineway’s performance in 23H2 was disappointing, mainly due to the VBP of formula granules and anti-corruption campaign. Accordingly, TCM injection and TCM formula granule businesses had negative growth in 23Q4.
• As the NHSA has further lifted the reimbursement restrictions on Chinese medicine injections, Shineway’s injection business is expected to help “hedge against” the headwinds in TCM formula granule business.
• 24H1 growth is under pressure due to 23H1 high base. Growth in 24H2 would pick up.As long as TCM favorable policies remain, profit is expected to increase by 20%-30% annually.

Lucror Analytics Morning Views comprise our fundamental credit analysis, opinions and trade recommendations on high yield issuers in the region, based on key company-specific developments in the past 24 hours. Our Morning Views include a section with a brief market commentary, key market indicators and a macroeconomic and corporate event calendar.

• China Vanke
• Melco Resorts and Entertainment (Philippines)

• CSI 300 represents the 300 largest stocks by marketcap and liquidity from the Shanghai and Shenzhen Exchanges. CSI 500 is the next 500. There is subjectivity.
• Here we look at potential ADDs/DELs for the CSI 300/500 rebalance in June 2024. With 93% of time passed, I expect 11 changes for CSI300, 50 for CSI 500. 
• Some names have changed since my last insight, but the long/short trades recommended eight weeks ago gained 11.26% since. We make small changes this time.

• SSE 50 and SSE 180, respectively, aim to represent the performance of the 50 and 180 largest and most liquid A-share stocks listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
• In this insight, we take a look at our expectations for potential index changes for SSE 50 and SSE 180 during the June 2024 index rebal event.
• According to my estimates, the SSE 50 expected ADDs and DELs could see US$1.7bn index buying and US$828mn index selling respectively (leaving nearly $900mm of funding sales to do).

• Since “no dividend was proposed for the year ended 31 December 2023”, the privatization is highly likely to succeed. It may not be wise for investors to bet against privatization.
• The recent high-level personnel changes in Taiji is “thought-provoking”, which seems to be preparing for the next step of integrating with China TCM. Spin-offs and integrations are expected within Taiji.
• We analyzed possible playbook. In this way, CNPGC is able to solve the problem of horizontal competition. China TCM could also relist in A-share to gain higher valuations/better liquidity.

• Air China Ltd (H) (753 HK) had 15.4% interest-bearing debt denominated in USD, vs. 21.3% for China Southern Airlines (1055 HK), making it less exposed to Rmb depreciation. 
• Recovery of international traffic and routes will help to lower unit costs. Air China’s unit costs for FY23 were Rmb4.0445, whereas CSA’s were only Rmb3.2000.
• There is more upside for Air China’s load factor which was down 7.8pp YoY in FY23, compared with -4.7pp for CSA. 

Lucror Analytics Morning Views comprise our fundamental credit analysis, opinions and trade recommendations on high yield issuers in the region, based on key company-specific developments in the past 24 hours. Our Morning Views include a section with a brief market commentary, key market indicators and a macroeconomic and corporate event calendar.

• Tata Motors ADR
• Xiaomi Corp

• TAL Education Group (TAL) reported net revenues of USD 373.5 million for its third quarter fiscal year 2024, exhibiting an increase of 60.5% and 63.7% in U.S. dollar and RMB terms.
• Despite the impressive revenue growth, profitability remained a concern with non-GAAP loss from operations and non-GAAP net loss attributable to TAL amounting to USD 10.2 million and USD 1.9 million, respectively.
• Baptista Research looks to evaluate the different factors that could influence the company’s price in the near future and attempts to carry out an independent valuation of the company using a Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) methodology.

Lucror Analytics Morning Views comprise our fundamental credit analysis, opinions and trade recommendations on high yield issuers in the region, based on key company-specific developments in the past 24 hours. Our Morning Views include a section with a brief market commentary, key market indicators and a macroeconomic and corporate event calendar.

• Pakuwon Jati
• Sunny Optical Technology Group

• 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.

• The review period for the June rebalance ends 30 April. We expect the changes to be announced 31 May with the implementation taking place after the close on 14 June.
• We forecast 10 changes for the index, including migrations between the STAR 100 Index and the SSE STAR50 (STAR50 INDEX). 
• Excluding the migrations, the potential adds have outperformed the potential deletes over the last few months and that could continue as we head to the end of the review period.

Lucror Analytics Morning Views comprise our fundamental credit analysis, opinions and trade recommendations on high yield issuers in the region, based on key company-specific developments in the past 24 hours. Our Morning Views include a section with a brief market commentary, key market indicators and a macroeconomic and corporate event calendar.

• Greentown China

• 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 positive aspects of the deal.

• BenQ BM Holding Cayman Corp (2228515D KY) is looking to raise at least US$100m in its upcoming Hong Kong IPO. The bookrunners on the deal are CICC and Citigroup.
• BenQ BM Holding Cayman Corp (BenQ BM) is a general hospital operator.
• As of Dec 2023, BenQ BM owned and operated two hospitals, with a total combined GFA of approximately 380,000 sqm and 1,850 registered beds.

• J&T Global Express (1519 HK)’s 180-day IPO lock-up period for 88% of outstanding shares expires on 24 April. The shares exiting the lock-up period are worth US$9.9 billion.
• The likely sellers will be the Series pre-A1, pre-A2, A and B investors as are they are materially in the money at the last close price.
• J&T has returned to organic growth with a shift to profits and declining cash burn. While the last close is 17% below the IPO price, the shares are fairly valued. 

• SenseTime Group (20 HK) is a potential deletion in June while Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd H (2899 HK) is a potential inclusion.
• For yet another review, BeiGene (6160 HK) is a close add with the Velocity Test determining if the stock will be added to the index or not.
• Estimated one-way turnover at the rebalance is 2.95% resulting in a one-way trade of HK$1.6bn. Official capping will be based off the close of trading on 4 June.

• The biggest changes in 2023 medical insurance catalog are the lifting of payment restrictions on TCM injections, which would drive rapid sales growth in the hospital market this year.
• GLP-1s are not flawless, and patients will lose not only fat but also muscle during weight-loss process. Then, another noteworthy opportunity has emerged – reduce fat and increase muscle.
• In 2024, Sino Biopharm is expected to achieve single-digit revenue growth. Deficiencies in corporate governance are one reason why the market is reluctant to offer Sino Biopharm high valuation.

• The review period for the June rebalance ends 30 April. We expect the changes to be announced 31 May with the implementation taking place after the close on 14 June.
• We expect the index committee to continue using a 6-month minimum listing history resulting in three changes to the index.
• With a big jump in tracking AUM over the last few months, passives will need to trade a lot of stock on implementation date.

• We compile our selection of small and mid-cap names with our desired characteristics of high dividend yields, value, and margin of safety.
• Our top picks are Perfect Medical Health (1830 HK), Water Oasis (1161 HK), Taste Gourmet (8371 HK), Uchi Technologies (UCHI MK), and Ginebra San Miguel (GSMI PM).
• We recently added Dream International (1126 HK). Read: Dream International (1126 HK): Dream Valuation of 3.7x PE and 12% Div Yield, >40% of Mkt Cap In Cash 

• Fu Shou Yuan’s 2023 performance was indeed not good, with negative growth in 23H2.Shanghai alone has limited market capacity.No matter how strong it is, it cannot drive the national market.
• Fu Shou Yuan has encountered difficulties in external expansion and M&A, so it chooses to increase dividends. However, this means the Company may have to say goodbye to high growth.
• The founder’s “past bad record” and uncertain business outlook hinder the upward potential of valuation, which requires a high margin of safety.It’s better bought at low price to collect dividends.

• Aequitas Research puts out a weekly update on the deals that were covered by the team recently along with updates for upcoming IPOs.
• On the IPO front, the focus remained on HD Hyundai Marine Solution (443060 KS) and Bharti Hexacom (6597372Z IN).
• On the placement front, India remained at the forefront with JSW Energy Ltd (JSW IN) and the potential share sale of Vodafone Idea (IDEA IN). 

• China Power International (2380 HK)‘s earnings should accelerate in FY24, and rebound in hydropower is a key driver. Hydropower generation surged 84.3% YoY in 2M24.
• The 9.3GW of capacity acquired in Oct will provide first full-year contribution in FY24. Better economics for coal-fired plants will add to profit momentum.
• The 6pp increase in dividend payout signals management’s positive view in the outlook, and the Chairman is explicitly confident in good FY24 profit growth. 

• In March 2024, BYD’s Sales volume increased by 46% YoY and Li Auto’s sales volume increased by 39% YoY.
• AliPay announced that foreigners’ consumption amount in China in March was ten times of last year.
• Facing stagnancy and competition, Alibaba’s Taobao removed service charges from its retailers.

• L’Occitane (973 HK) announced two solid moves this week:  1) Disposing the 70% stake in Grown Alchemist;
• And 2) granting additional call options to Sol de Janeiro CEO Heela Yang of up to 7%.
• The stock is trading at 19x FY25 PE (fiscal year ending March), up from just 14x six months ago.

Lucror Analytics Morning Views comprise our fundamental credit analysis, opinions and trade recommendations on high yield issuers in the region, based on key company-specific developments in the past 24 hours. Our Morning Views include a section with a brief market commentary, key market indicators and a macroeconomic and corporate event calendar.

• China Vanke
• Indika Energy
• Vedanta Resources

• One of a basket of Hong Kong commodity stocks we like
• One off issues in 2023 which should reverse in 2024
• Can also be viewed as  a tangential play on India’s industrial growth

• Jinxin Fertility Group Ltd., China’s largest private provider of in vitro fertility (IVF) services, is buying a stake in an Indonesian peer, venturing into Southeast Asia as demand in China declines with more couples opting not to have babies.
• Hong Kong-listed Jinxin Fertility has signed an equity investment deal to become a “significant shareholder” of PT Morula Indonesia, an IVF specialist affiliated with PT Bundamedik Tbk, a major women- and children-focused health care services group in Indonesia, according to a joint statement Monday.
• It did not specify how much capital Jinxin will invest.

• The Hang Seng Index has been rising for 2 weeks but the uptrend seems slow and weak. The rally may have stalled, a pullback may be behind the corner.
• Based on our MONTHLY seasonal studies for the HSI, the index has a extremely high chance to close April in negative territory.
• You can go SHORT now, or during this coming week if the index keeps rising, target the 17000 to 17300 areas.

• Hong Kong hotel-play Langham Hospitality (1270 HK) was spun-off from Great Eagle (41 HK) on the 30 May 2013. Now GE intends to take the company back into the fold. 
• Covid was devastating to the hospitality sector. As were the 2019 demonstrations. Langham’s share price never recovered, and is currently trading at a lifetime low and a P/B of 0.21x.
• No price was mentioned in the announcement. Expect a healthy premium to undisturbed, should a firm Offer unfold. But I wouldn’t expect a knockout price.

• ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance C (6060 HK) is benefiting from the cross-selling opportunities  generated through the eco-systems of Alibaba Group Holding (9988 HK) and Tencent (700 HK), its parent companies
• Largest solely online insurance company in China with Rmb 30B gross premiums written in 2023.
• Expertise and cross-selling from Ping An Insurance (H) (2318 HK) , another parent company with a jointly run auto insurance business.

• After a solid FY23, Anta Sports Products (2020 HK)‘s outlook for FY24 looks equally encouraging. Its various brands are expected to grow by 10-30% YoY still.  
• Listing of Amer Sports (AS US) will provide Rmb1.6bn non-recurring gain in 1H24. For the full year, there will be a positive swing in its profit contribution. 
• Anta Sports can be considered as a sportswear brand incubator, and its premium PERs of 18.3x and 15.9x for FY24 and FY25 reflect the ability to brew new brands. 

• We believe consensus has not fully captured the company’s margin upside for FY24/25, likely due to management’s excessively conservative guidances.
• Our confidence is underpinned by positive SSSG trend, accelerating store expansion and clear trajectory for store margin improvement.
• We expect the company to generate RMB150/320 million adjusted net profit for FY24/25 respectively, compared to RMB30/150 million baked in consensus. Reiterate buy with HK$80 target price (30x FY25 earnings).  

• Zongmu Technology (1491595D CH) is looking to raise up to US$150m in its upcoming HK IPO. The deal will be run by Huatai and BNP Paribas.
• Zongmu Technology is a Chinese advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) solutions provider, offering solutions with comprehensive autonomous driving functions. 
• As a Tier 1 supplier, it undertakes software design, hardware design, system design and the integration of these components to develop solutions for mass deployment.