China New Economy Equity Analyst, Blue Lotus Research Institute

Robert McKay

China New Economy Equity Analyst

China growth and global non-US Internet equities

Blue Lotus Research Institute

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

Equity Bottom-Up

Xiaomi Corporation manufactures communication equipment and parts. The Company produces and sells mobile phones, smart phone software,  set-top boxes, and related accessories. Xiaomi markets its products worldwide.

<ul>
<li>Xiaomi's Japan market share rose to ~7% in C2Q24 from the year prior, driven by carrier partnerships and brand recognition from <em>SU7</em> media coverage and  a product partnership with LEICA;</li>
<li>Upon examination, we found Xiaomi filled a product gap left by the smartphone exits of Kyocera and Fujitsu, for the carriers, which account for 90% of handset sales in Japan;</li>
<li>In our view, Xiaomi’s success in Japan marks a turning point in its global brand perception, signaling potential for further growth in other developed and high end developing markets.</li>
</ul>


Xiaomi's Japan market share rose to ~7% in C2Q24 from the year prior, driven by carrier partnerships and brand recognition from SU7 media coverage and  a product partnership with LEICA;
Upon examination, we found Xiaomi filled a product gap left by the smartphone exits of Kyocera and Fujitsu, for the carriers, which account for 90% of handset sales in Japan;
In our view, Xiaomi’s success in Japan marks a turning point in its global brand perception, signaling potential for further growth in other developed and high end developing markets.


Xiaomi's Smartphone Share Gain in Japan Is a Harbinger of Good Things to Come

JD Logistics, Inc. offers logistics services. The Company provides cargo transportation, cargo distribution, warehousing, and other services. JD Logistics is located in China.

<ul>
<li>Despite being breakeven just quarters ago, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/jd-logistics-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:31500:1" rel="noopener">JD Logistics (2618 HK)</a> has achieved profitability on par with global peers nearly 3x its size. Margin still has upside with further subsidiary integration;</li>
<li>JDL is still positioned to accelerate revenue by taking share from <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/s-f-holding" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:44093:1" rel="noopener">S.F. Holding (6936 HK)</a> in untapped opportunities, including domestic B2C (Taobao/Tmall), cross-border B2C (Kuayue acquisition), and B2B;</li>
<li>JDL's stock price rose 60%+ while it was our top pick for 2024. We reiterate the company as our TOP buy idea in the China logistics space for 2025;</li>
</ul>


Despite being breakeven just quarters ago, JD Logistics (2618 HK) has achieved profitability on par with global peers nearly 3x its size. Margin still has upside with further subsidiary integration;
JDL is still positioned to accelerate revenue by taking share from S.F. Holding (6936 HK) in untapped opportunities, including domestic B2C (Taobao/Tmall), cross-border B2C (Kuayue acquisition), and B2B;
JDL's stock price rose 60%+ while it was our top pick for 2024. We reiterate the company as our TOP buy idea in the China logistics space for 2025;


China Logistics (Part 2): All JD Logistic Roads Lead Back to S.F. Express

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. operates as an express delivery company. The Company provides express delivery service through their nationwide network, as well as other value-added logistics services. ZTO Express serves customers globally.

<ul>
<li>ZTO's market share losses may accelerate as peers continue to cut prices. Worse yet, margins of its competitors are improving, which will sustain the war for a longer time;</li>
<li>ZTO has maintained profitability growth despite the price war, but we think this situation is unsustainable. Management will eventually need to sacrifice profitability or suffer accelerated share loss. </li>
<li>We now take a more bearish view on ZTO as we see no quick solution to the profit and market share balancing act. </li>
</ul>


ZTO's market share losses may accelerate as peers continue to cut prices. Worse yet, margins of its competitors are improving, which will sustain the war for a longer time;
ZTO has maintained profitability growth despite the price war, but we think this situation is unsustainable. Management will eventually need to sacrifice profitability or suffer accelerated share loss. 
We now take a more bearish view on ZTO as we see no quick solution to the profit and market share balancing act. 


China Logistics (Part 1): ZTO Has a Unit Economics Problem

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>Despite wide-spread social media expectations of China's electronics industry benefiting from Middle East supply chain disruptions following explosive incidents, September trade data suggested otherwise;</li>
<li>Middle East exports declined 2.1% yoy, underperforming other regions, while electronics were worse, declining 7.0% yoy. Communication device exports to Iran, Palestine and Lebanon were among the worst performing categories;</li>
<li>This suggests terrorist related trade was a negligible portion. As customs data are two-way verifiable, we believe we can safely conclude China doesn't benefit from the war in Mid East.</li>
</ul>


Despite wide-spread social media expectations of China's electronics industry benefiting from Middle East supply chain disruptions following explosive incidents, September trade data suggested otherwise;
Middle East exports declined 2.1% yoy, underperforming other regions, while electronics were worse, declining 7.0% yoy. Communication device exports to Iran, Palestine and Lebanon were among the worst performing categories;
This suggests terrorist related trade was a negligible portion. As customs data are two-way verifiable, we believe we can safely conclude China doesn't benefit from the war in Mid East.


Did China Exports Really Benefit from the Israel/Lebanon Pager Attack?

<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?

Robert covers semiconductor, e-commerce, logistics, and photovoltaics equities across China, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia markets.

Robert earned his Bachelor's in Finance from the University of Alberta and studied at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He is a CFA Charterholder and holds additional certificates for Python and Chinese.