Daily Brief Consumer: Alibaba, Central Plaza Hotel, Potbelly Corp, J Sainsbury PLC, Thunderbird Entertainment Group, Kweichow Moutai, KRBL Ltd, Hesai Group, Kingsmen Creative and more

• Alibaba Group is back in the spotlight after unveiling a trifecta of high-profile moves that have reignited investor interest and sent its shares sharply higher.
• The Chinese tech conglomerate raised $3.2 billion through the issuance of zero-coupon convertible bonds due 2032, a financing round earmarked for strengthening its AI and cloud infrastructure.
• At the same time, reports surfaced that Alibaba is beginning to deploy in-house AI training chips, reducing reliance on Nvidia’s costly accelerators and signaling a shift toward technological sovereignty in the middle of China’s broader AI race.

• The SET50 index tracks the performance of the top 50 largest and most liquid names listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET).
• In this insight, we take a look at our capping flow expectations for the September 2025 index rebal event.
• Separately, we expect at least two index changes during the next index review in December 2025.

Key points (machine generated)

• The article highlights Potbelly (PBPB) as a promising investment opportunity in the fast-casual restaurant sector.
• Under CEO Bob Wright, Potbelly has made operational improvements leading to increased average-unit volumes and profit margins.
• The author believes Potbelly is shifting from a turnaround story to a growth stock, with potential for shares to double.

This article is sourced from an online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. This article was originally published 3 months ago on Value Investors Club.

• Argos’s strategic value remains underappreciated, despite JD.com walking away. A sale or internal turnaround could unlock up to £2 billion in value based on realistic, post-tax synergy assumptions.
• Sainsbury acquired Argos for £1.4 billion in 2016, aiming for multichannel scale. While digital integration succeeded, long-term profit delivery has lagged — offering a compelling restructuring opportunity today.
• My event-driven SOTP model shows 10–25% share price upside, with optionality from renewed M&A interest, internal margin improvement, or capital allocation catalysts including divestment or spin-off.

• Thunderbird Entertainment is a highly illiquid Canadian stock with a market cap of $75 million CAD, traded at low volumes.
• Sofon Capital Research is interested in microcap companies like Thunderbird, defining them as high quality businesses at fair to great prices.
• Thunderbird is considered a very good business at an outstanding price, trading at less than 2x next 12 months EBITDA, making it an attractive investment opportunity.

This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only.

Key points (machine generated)

• Moutai is a premium baijiu essential for social gatherings in China, symbolizing respect and status.
• Despite strong financial performance, Moutai’s stock price has stagnated due to oversupply and pricing volatility.
• The long-term outlook for Moutai remains optimistic, with potential for recovery as market conditions stabilize.

This article is sourced from an online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. This article was originally published 3 months ago on Value Investors Club.

• Shares of KRBL Ltd (KRB IN) dropped as much as 12% intraday on September 15th, owing to resignation of Independent Director, Mr. Anil Kumar Chaudhary.
• His letter highlights suppression of dissent, lack of transparency in decision-making, questionable receivable write-offs, and CSR mismanagement among several governance concerns currently at the company.
• When triangulated with auditor qualifications, committee overlaps, CSR lapses, frequent Board/CS exits, and major write off, a pattern of weak checks and board oversight emerges.

• Independent Director Anil Kumar Chaudhary resigned in September 2025 citing serious governance issues including suppression of dissent, withholding of information, arbitrary financial decisions, and board process irregularities.
• These recent events suggest that previous governance controversies are not fully resolved, raising issues around board transparency, independent oversight, and risk to stakeholder trust.
• While KRBL’s operational performance remains strong, this development raises serious red flags about the company’s governance culture.

• LiDAR TAM is underestimated – Current consensus misses the true size. Our work suggests 2030 TAM can be 70–120% higher than implied; Hesai best positioned as the market leader.
• Three Sub-segments Key –China LiDAR penetration reaching 60% penetration, Global ex-China ADAS (and LiDAR) adoption accelerating to 25–35%, and Robotics (logistics, humanoids, appliances) building upto $60bn market by 2030.
• Though the use-cases and upside for the sector can be far beyond current estimates, the industry faces a significant technology risk and the jury is still out.

• Institutions were net buyers of Singapore stocks with S$11.1 million inflow, major inflows to DBS, ST Engineering, UOL.
• Stamford Land’s Ow Chio Kiat increased interest to 46.23%, maintaining a debt-free position with S$0.5 billion cash.
• Nordic Group’s Chang Yeh Hong increased interest to 54.87%, with a strong S$184.9 million orderbook as of June 2025.