Asia Pac IPO & Placement Research, China biotech, Aequitas Research

Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

Asia Pac IPO & Placement Research, China biotech

IPOs and Placements coverage across Asia Pacific

Aequitas Research

We cover all listing across the Asia Pacific along with follow-up placements. As of Dec 2020, our team had covered 539 IPOs with a hit rate of 73.5% and 685 placements with a hit rate of 66.8%.

We combine fundamental bottom-up views with our proprietary quantitative framework to provide a holistic coverage across new listings and placements. Our coverage includes pre-IPO notes before the deal is launched, follow-up analysis once the deal is live and post-listing trading analysis as well.

Quantitative Analysis

<ul>
<li>We analyzed the latest HK SFC report for aggregate short position as of Dec 12th.</li>
<li>Top short increases and decreases were tabulated for one week and four week period.</li>
<li>We highlight short changes in Xiaomi, Alibaba, ZTE, Ke, Petrochina.</li>
</ul>


We analyzed the latest HK SFC report for aggregate short position as of Dec 12th.
Top short increases and decreases were tabulated for one week and four week period.
We highlight short changes in Xiaomi, Alibaba, ZTE, Ke, Petrochina.


HK Short Interest Weekly: Xiaomi, Alibaba, ZTE, Ke, Petrochina

External broker reports(aggregated public sources), CMB International

CMB International

External broker reports(aggregated public sources)

Incorporated in Hong Kong, supported by the mainland and targeting in global market, CMB International Capital Corporation Limited (“CMBI”) is an integrated financial institution providing comprehensive and professional services. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Merchants Bank ("CMB"), by leveraging on the Group’s synergy and coordination in domestic and overseas markets, as well as CMB’s strong resources and outstanding social reputation, CMBI and its subsidiaries have been actively implementing diversified business strategies and set up an overall layout of main business segments including Corporate Finance, Asset Management, Wealth Management, Global Markets and Structured Finance, etc. Adhering to the philosophy of “being clients oriented and increasing our own values by the way of creating value for clients”, CMBI endeavors to provide quality and integrated financial services to institutional, corporate and individual customers both domestic and overseas including Hong Kong IPO sponsorship and underwriting, share placement and rights issue for listed companies, financial advisors, bonds issuance services, asset management, direct investment, wealth management, equity sales and trading, etc.

Equity Bottom-Up

JF Wealth Holdings Ltd operates as an online investment decision making solution provider. The Company provides online high end investor education services, online financial literacy education services, financial information software services, and other services. JF Wealth Holdings provides its services throughout Hong Kong.

<ul><li>JF SmartInvest is a leading online investment decision-making solution provider in China leveraging its scaled MCN matrix to capitalize on the wave of retail investors entering the A-share market.</li><li>The company’s share price is highly beta-driven, with a correlation with the A-share market turnover at 78% as of Dec 12, 2025(Fig.5).</li><li>In an era of thriving new media ecosystem, we see a paradigm shift in traffic generation from a phase of “platform-driven” to “content-driven”, which benefits the platforms with quality content and strong engagement to capture users’ attention. </li></ul><p><em>Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.</em></p>

JF SmartInvest is a leading online investment decision-making solution provider in China leveraging its scaled MCN matrix to capitalize on the wave of retail investors entering the A-share market.The company’s share price is highly beta-driven, with a correlation with the A-share market turnover at 78% as of Dec 12, 2025(Fig.5).In an era of thriving new media ecosystem, we see a paradigm shift in traffic generation from a phase of “platform-driven” to “content-driven”, which benefits the platforms with quality content and strong engagement to capture users’ attention. Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

JF SmartInvest (9636 HK) - Seizing Opportunities Amid a Traffic Paradigm Shift

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul><li>We believe 2026 will be a pivotal year for competing for user mindshare in the AI era, with key focuses on lowering AI adoption thresholds, improving decision-making efficiency, and creating real value.</li><li>Among traditional internet businesses, companies that possess these three characteristics are expected to have higher long-term investment value: 1) stable cash flow to support AIrelated investment and exploration; 2) rich application scenarios to accumulate data and reach users; and 3) outstanding supply chain capabilities and operational excellence to drive overseas expansion for incremental growth.</li><li>We still recommend adopting a barbell investment strategy, while focusing on both the certainty of profit growth and new increments brought by AI. </li></ul><p><em>Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.</em></p>

We believe 2026 will be a pivotal year for competing for user mindshare in the AI era, with key focuses on lowering AI adoption thresholds, improving decision-making efficiency, and creating real value.Among traditional internet businesses, companies that possess these three characteristics are expected to have higher long-term investment value: 1) stable cash flow to support AIrelated investment and exploration; 2) rich application scenarios to accumulate data and reach users; and 3) outstanding supply chain capabilities and operational excellence to drive overseas expansion for incremental growth.We still recommend adopting a barbell investment strategy, while focusing on both the certainty of profit growth and new increments brought by AI. Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

Internet - 2026 Outlook- Bridging legacy and future: A pivotal year

Korea / Special Situations, Clepsydra Capital

Sanghyun Park

Korea / Special Situations

Korea / Special Sits, Pairs, Index Rebalancing

Clepsydra Capital

Investigate special situations, pairs, and index rebalancing trades in Korea.

Index Rebalance

Wonik Holdings Co., Ltd / Index Rebalance

Wonik Holdings Co., Ltd manufactures, sells, and exports semiconductor processing equipment such as gas supply systems, gas purifiers, and scrubbers.  The Company's products include gas cabinets, controller composition, valve manifold boxes (VMB), a line of gas purifiers, and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor disposition (PE-CVD).

<ul>
<li>FnGuide’s December MKF500 rebalance adds Wonik Holdings (030530) to the semis bucket, clearing screens for TIGER Semiconductor TOP 10 ETF, Korea’s largest sector ETF.</li>
<li>October rebalance: Wonik IPS added at 5% weight, pulling ₩100B passive flows and ripping 15%+ as retail chased.</li>
<li>For April rebalance, Wonik Holdings’ high volume lowers theoretical passive impact, but strong retail chasing could trigger Oct 2–style price action—definitely worth monitoring.</li>
</ul>


FnGuide’s December MKF500 rebalance adds Wonik Holdings (030530) to the semis bucket, clearing screens for TIGER Semiconductor TOP 10 ETF, Korea’s largest sector ETF.
October rebalance: Wonik IPS added at 5% weight, pulling ₩100B passive flows and ripping 15%+ as retail chased.
For April rebalance, Wonik Holdings’ high volume lowers theoretical passive impact, but strong retail chasing could trigger Oct 2–style price action—definitely worth monitoring.


High-Conviction TIGER Semi Top 10 Rebal Trade from MKF500 Rebalance Cues

Research from Water Tower Research, Water Tower Research

Water Tower Research

Research from Water Tower Research

Water Tower Research is a leading equity research firm that provides research on micro, small and mid cap companies.

Water Tower Research was founded by Wall Street veterans after witnessing a fundamental shift in the investment research industry with the result being a declining knowledge base among investors, a lack of awareness and a shrinking pool of fundamental research being conducted on companies across the small-cap and micro-cap spectrum. The same issues are now increasingly occurring in the mid-cap space. This sea change within the investment community is impacting not only the companies themselves but also current shareholders and potential investors. With significantly less active sell-side sponsorship by Wall Street, a substantial information gap has developed between companies and various constituents in the financial community. The net result is fewer channels for insight and information to flow between companies and investors.

Equity Research Firm

Gorilla Technology Group  / Equity Bottom-Up

Gorilla Technology Group Inc. operates as a video big data and analytics technology firm. The Company offers intelligent video surveillance solutions featuring analytics for enterprise business surveillance, content delivery, and communication solutions for mobile business, network intelligence, forensics, telecommunications, and web service industries.

<div><ul><li>Chandan described his 2025 Nobel Sustainability Award nomination as a surreal validation of his career building complex, national-scale infrastructure. </li><li>Rather than mere “good intentions”, the recognition affirms that Gorilla’s AI solutions are successfully engineered into real-world systems across global markets.</li><li>For Chandan, the award proved that his team’s “stubborn decisions” were rational and that its commitment to implementation survives the contact with reality.</li></ul></div><div><p style="list-style-type: square;"></p></div>

Chandan described his 2025 Nobel Sustainability Award nomination as a surreal validation of his career building complex, national-scale infrastructure. Rather than mere “good intentions”, the recognition affirms that Gorilla’s AI solutions are successfully engineered into real-world systems across global markets.For Chandan, the award proved that his team’s “stubborn decisions” were rational and that its commitment to implementation survives the contact with reality.

GRRR: CEO Talks Nobel, Astrikos Investment, and Outlook for 2026

Insights in the Information Technology Space

Information Technology
Insights in the Information Technology Space

HK Short Interest Weekly: Xiaomi, Alibaba, ZTE, Ke, Petrochina

We analyzed the latest HK SFC report for aggregate short position as of Dec 12th and highlight short interest changes in Xiaomi, Alibaba, ZTE, Ke,...

Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

JF SmartInvest (9636 HK) - Seizing Opportunities Amid a Traffic Paradigm Shift

JF SmartInvest is a leading online investment decision-making solution provider in China leveraging its scaled MCN matrix to capitalize on the wave...

CMB International

Internet - 2026 Outlook- Bridging legacy and future: A pivotal year

We believe 2026 will be a pivotal year for competing for user mindshare in the AI era, with key focuses on lowering AI adoption thresholds,...

CMB International

High-Conviction TIGER Semi Top 10 Rebal Trade from MKF500 Rebalance Cues

This post flags a high-conviction trade in the TIGER Semiconductor Top 10 rebalance, taking cues from FnGuide’s MKF500 regular rebalance.

Sanghyun Park

GRRR: CEO Talks Nobel, Astrikos Investment, and Outlook for 2026

Chandan described his 2025 Nobel Sustainability Award nomination as a surreal validation of his career building complex, national-scale...

Water Tower Research