Contextualizing EM Investment Opportunities, Pyramids and Pagodas

Pyramids and Pagodas

Contextualizing EM Investment Opportunities

Established in 2022, Pyramids and Pagodas aims to cover underreported trends and companies across emerging markets (“EM”), with a particular focus on Asia and the Middle East. Our content targets a broad audience of investors and anyone seeking to capitalize on or learn more about undervalued investment opportunities in these regions. We have skin in the game for these ideas with a view to build a strong track record with demonstrable returns in the long run.

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul><li>In the vibrant Philippine gaming industry, we found one casino operator particularly poised to capitalize on the growth story.</li><li>With higher growth rates, less competition, and lower taxes than Macau, now may be an opportune moment for value investors looking to cash in on the gaming boom.</li><li>With a strategic focus on expansion, the operator opened another casino this year in Quezon City, which looks set to be a major driver of group revenues over the few years should it follow a similar growth trajectory to the group’s flagship property in Entertainment City.</li></ul>

In the vibrant Philippine gaming industry, we found one casino operator particularly poised to capitalize on the growth story.With higher growth rates, less competition, and lower taxes than Macau, now may be an opportune moment for value investors looking to cash in on the gaming boom.With a strategic focus on expansion, the operator opened another casino this year in Quezon City, which looks set to be a major driver of group revenues over the few years should it follow a similar growth trajectory to the group’s flagship property in Entertainment City.

Manila Trip Report – An emerging Pacific Tiger (Part 2)

<ul><li>Initially planned around meeting a Chairman of an exciting listed company (to be covered separately), Altraman’s recent trip to Manila quickly morphed into a slew of meetings with other enterprises.</li><li>His first stop was the Philippines Stock Exchange (PSE.PS) – the holding company itself being a potential play on the market as a whole, where he learned of catalysts such as soaring fintech-driven retail investor participation and government reforms to slash transaction costs.</li><li>Further afield in Quezon, Altraman met with D&amp;L Industries (DNL.PS), a raw materials manufacturer serving many of the country’s blue chips and multinationals. </li></ul>

Initially planned around meeting a Chairman of an exciting listed company (to be covered separately), Altraman’s recent trip to Manila quickly morphed into a slew of meetings with other enterprises.His first stop was the Philippines Stock Exchange (PSE.PS) – the holding company itself being a potential play on the market as a whole, where he learned of catalysts such as soaring fintech-driven retail investor participation and government reforms to slash transaction costs.Further afield in Quezon, Altraman met with D&amp;L Industries (DNL.PS), a raw materials manufacturer serving many of the country’s blue chips and multinationals. 

Manila Trip Report – An emerging Pacific tiger? (Part 1)

Equity Bottom-Up

Tcl Multimedia Technology / Equity Bottom-Up

TCL Multimedia Technology Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, manufactures television sets, trades television related components, and manufactures audio visual products.  The Company also manufactures personal computers and peripheral products. In addition, TCL Intenational operates information technology and other business.

<ul><li>Spirits were high as we attended the TCL Electronics (1070.HK ) (“TCL”) investor conference last Thursday (28 March) at the Shangri-La in Hong Kong, following its after-market earnings release.</li><li>The results topped our own expectations in some areas, which we outlined in our recent write-up on the Company .</li><li>We decided to summarize the results, as well as management insights shared at the conference for added context.</li></ul>

Spirits were high as we attended the TCL Electronics (1070.HK ) (“TCL”) investor conference last Thursday (28 March) at the Shangri-La in Hong Kong, following its after-market earnings release.The results topped our own expectations in some areas, which we outlined in our recent write-up on the Company .We decided to summarize the results, as well as management insights shared at the conference for added context.

As Predicted, TCL Electronics (1070.HK) Wows with 2023 Results

<ul>
<li>TCL Electronics Limited (1070.HK ) (“TCL”), with a market cap of HKD 7.57 billion (USD 968 million), is not your ordinary Chinese TV manufacturer.</li>
<li>TCL focuses on mid-to-high end audio/video products like miniLED, QLED, Android, and smart TVs, ranking second in the global TV market behind Samsung.</li>
<li>The Company also produces air conditioners, refrigerators, smartphones, tablets, and smart home devices. A recent catch-up with the IR team at TCL’s Shenzhen Industrial Park Headquarters intrigued us and we decided to dig a bit deeper.</li>
</ul>


TCL Electronics Limited (1070.HK ) (“TCL”), with a market cap of HKD 7.57 billion (USD 968 million), is not your ordinary Chinese TV manufacturer.
TCL focuses on mid-to-high end audio/video products like miniLED, QLED, Android, and smart TVs, ranking second in the global TV market behind Samsung.
The Company also produces air conditioners, refrigerators, smartphones, tablets, and smart home devices. A recent catch-up with the IR team at TCL’s Shenzhen Industrial Park Headquarters intrigued us and we decided to dig a bit deeper.


TCL Electronics (1070.HK) – a Rising Star in the TV Business

Dada Nexus Limited operates a platform for local on-demand retail and delivery. The Company provides a digital solution leveraging the crowdsourcing model to address the challenge of frequent fluctuations brought forward by the nature of on-demand orders and to match the surging demand for delivery capacity with efficient supply. Dada Nexus serves customers in China.

<ul><li>Dada Nexus Limited (DADA.OQ) (“Dada”), with a market cap of USD 869.9 million, is one of China’s leading on-demand retail platforms holding around 20% market share behind Meituan (42%, 3690.HK) and Ele.me (24%, Alibaba-owned).</li><li>Dada, a 54% subsidiary of JD.com (JD.OQ; 9618.HK) and 9% owned by Walmart Inc. (WMT.N) operates two core businesses, namely:</li><li>JD Daojia (JDDJ), which is a local non-restaurant online to offline (“O2O”) retail marketplace</li></ul>

Dada Nexus Limited (DADA.OQ) (“Dada”), with a market cap of USD 869.9 million, is one of China’s leading on-demand retail platforms holding around 20% market share behind Meituan (42%, 3690.HK) and Ele.me (24%, Alibaba-owned).Dada, a 54% subsidiary of JD.com (JD.OQ; 9618.HK) and 9% owned by Walmart Inc. (WMT.N) operates two core businesses, namely:JD Daojia (JDDJ), which is a local non-restaurant online to offline (“O2O”) retail marketplace

Dada Nexus (DADA.OQ) – Leading Chinese On-Demand Retail Platform Accelerates on Significant Runway