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

<ul>
<li>Nvidia's H20 and upcoming B20 were launched to comply with China export controls, and have remained successful due to deficiencies and supply issues for Huawei's Ascend AI accelerators.</li>
<li>However, Nvidia's China success will be short-lived due to increasing LLM compute requirements and no method for it to offer a more performance dense offering due to export controls.</li>
<li>Not only will Huawei's upcoming Ascend AI accelerator mitigate this issue, but it will likely also aim to address some of the other deficiencies of the Ascend platform too.</li>
</ul>


Nvidia's H20 and upcoming B20 were launched to comply with China export controls, and have remained successful due to deficiencies and supply issues for Huawei's Ascend AI accelerators.
However, Nvidia's China success will be short-lived due to increasing LLM compute requirements and no method for it to offer a more performance dense offering due to export controls.
Not only will Huawei's upcoming Ascend AI accelerator mitigate this issue, but it will likely also aim to address some of the other deficiencies of the Ascend platform too.


Nvidia's China Dominance in AI Accelerator Has Serious Deficiencies

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>In the past four quarters, Chinese companies bought 65+ ArF (Argon Fluoride) Immersion lithography machines, some capable of overlay precision as fine as 1.5nm overlay for Self-Aligned Double/Quadruple/Octuple Patterning (SAD/Q/OP);</li>
<li>The race is between Chinese foundries to put these lithography machines to meet the raging demand of AI, which looks optimistic in the medium term, despite short-term challenges;</li>
<li>The race is also among the global semiconductor industry to meet the demand for testing the limit of AI's scaling law. So far the balance tips in <strong>disfavor</strong> of China. </li>
</ul>


In the past four quarters, Chinese companies bought 65+ ArF (Argon Fluoride) Immersion lithography machines, some capable of overlay precision as fine as 1.5nm overlay for Self-Aligned Double/Quadruple/Octuple Patterning (SAD/Q/OP);
The race is between Chinese foundries to put these lithography machines to meet the raging demand of AI, which looks optimistic in the medium term, despite short-term challenges;
The race is also among the global semiconductor industry to meet the demand for testing the limit of AI's scaling law. So far the balance tips in disfavor of China. 


China's Near-Term Semiconductor Bottleneck Isn't ASML

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

Travis Lundy

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Quiddity Advisors

Event-Driven

China Nonferrous Mining Corp / Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>A shares were down on the week, not maintaining the month-end bounce after the long weekend. H-shares were mixed. HSCEI was slightly up. </li>
<li>Net SOUTHBOUND buying was +HK23bn. SOUTHBOUND ended its consecutive post-CNY daily net buy streak on 25 March, then started a new one. No net sell days since.</li>
<li>This week saw a LOT of news. State Council Nine Points. CSRC draft regs and legislative work plan. Ratings agency action. Lots of movement. None of it hugely positive.</li>
</ul>


A shares were down on the week, not maintaining the month-end bounce after the long weekend. H-shares were mixed. HSCEI was slightly up. 
Net SOUTHBOUND buying was +HK23bn. SOUTHBOUND ended its consecutive post-CNY daily net buy streak on 25 March, then started a new one. No net sell days since.
This week saw a LOT of news. State Council Nine Points. CSRC draft regs and legislative work plan. Ratings agency action. Lots of movement. None of it hugely positive.


HK Connect SOUTHBOUND Flows (To 12 Apr 2024); Strong Net Buying. New State Council and CSRC Plans

Taiwan Tech Focused Senior Analyst

Patrick Liao

United Microelectronics Corp / Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/united-microelectronics-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6450:1" rel="noopener">United Microelectronics Corp (2303 TT)</a>'s 2Q24F outlook is experiencing a slight upward now, possibly indicating a positive QoQ.  </li>
<li>UMC's notable contributors are showing a mixed outlook, and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/novatek-microelectronics-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:10904:1" rel="noopener">Novatek Microelectronics Corp (3034 TT)</a> could be the most influencer.</li>
<li>Attention should be paid to the 3Q24F outlook for any potential changes and a shift from a bearish view could positively impact the outlook, potentially signaling the end of downturn.  </li>
</ul>



United Microelectronics Corp (2303 TT)'s 2Q24F outlook is experiencing a slight upward now, possibly indicating a positive QoQ.  
UMC's notable contributors are showing a mixed outlook, and Novatek Microelectronics Corp (3034 TT) could be the most influencer.
Attention should be paid to the 3Q24F outlook for any potential changes and a shift from a bearish view could positively impact the outlook, potentially signaling the end of downturn.  


UMC (2303.TT; UMC.US): Some Rush Orders Coming in and 2Q24F Could Post Positive QoQ.

<ul>
<li>A better week for HK stocks as A-shares rebound on National Team buying, a PBOC RRR cut, and potentially other measures to boost the market. Foreigners stopped selling; that helped.</li>
<li>Southbound saw decent net buying on ETFs late in the week, but otherwise the week was pretty flat in single-stock land - net buying of SOEs, selling of tech.</li>
<li>Net SOUTHBOUND buying was HK$4.5bn on the week, mostly through Shanghai (interestingly, 90+% of the decent NORTHBOUND buy was also through Shanghai). </li>
</ul>


A better week for HK stocks as A-shares rebound on National Team buying, a PBOC RRR cut, and potentially other measures to boost the market. Foreigners stopped selling; that helped.
Southbound saw decent net buying on ETFs late in the week, but otherwise the week was pretty flat in single-stock land - net buying of SOEs, selling of tech.
Net SOUTHBOUND buying was HK$4.5bn on the week, mostly through Shanghai (interestingly, 90+% of the decent NORTHBOUND buy was also through Shanghai). 


HK Connect SOUTHBOUND Flows (To 26 Jan 2024); ETFs and High Div SOEs Again BIG Buys, Tech Sold

China

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation operates a semiconductor foundry. The Company provides integrated circuit foundry and technology services including the testing, development, design, manufacturing, packaging, and sale of integrated circuits. Semiconductor Manufacturing International offers its products and services around the world.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) (981 HK)

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC)

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Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) (981 HK)

Nvidia's China Dominance in AI Accelerator Has Serious Deficiencies

Nvidia's success in China may be short-lived due to the increasing number of failure points as model compute scales. Meanwhile, Huawei's Ascend...

Blue Lotus Research Institute

China's Near-Term Semiconductor Bottleneck Isn't ASML

China's semiconductor bottleneck isn't lithography tools in the near term, it is etchers. We see ST pressure, MT opportunity and LT challenge from...

Blue Lotus Research Institute

HK Connect SOUTHBOUND Flows (To 12 Apr 2024); Strong Net Buying. New State Council and CSRC Plans

Strong SOUTHBOUND Connect flows continue. Only one net sell day since the end of Chinese New Year. H-shares were flat to up while A-shares were...

Travis Lundy

UMC (2303.TT; UMC.US): Some Rush Orders Coming in and 2Q24F Could Post Positive QoQ.

UMC's 2Q24F outlook is slightly improving, with Novatek Microelectronics Corp potentially being a key influencer. Keep an eye on the 3Q24F outlook...

Patrick Liao

HK Connect SOUTHBOUND Flows (To 26 Jan 2024); ETFs and High Div SOEs Again BIG Buys, Tech Sold

SOUTHBOUND flows were positive on the week but most of the net buying was in the big two ETFs. The trend of buying low PER high div SOEs continues....

Travis Lundy

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

Nvidia's China Dominance in AI Accelerator Has Serious Deficiencies

​Nvidia's success in China may be short-lived due to the increasing number of failure points as model compute scales. Meanwhile, Huawei's Ascend...

Blue Lotus Research Institute

China's Near-Term Semiconductor Bottleneck Isn't ASML

China's semiconductor bottleneck isn't lithography tools in the near term, it is etchers. We see ST pressure, MT opportunity and LT challenge from...

Blue Lotus Research Institute

HK Connect SOUTHBOUND Flows (To 12 Apr 2024); Strong Net Buying. New State Council and CSRC Plans

Strong SOUTHBOUND Connect flows continue. Only one net sell day since the end of Chinese New Year. H-shares were flat to up while A-shares were...

Travis Lundy

UMC (2303.TT; UMC.US): Some Rush Orders Coming in and 2Q24F Could Post Positive QoQ.

​UMC's 2Q24F outlook is slightly improving, with Novatek Microelectronics Corp potentially being a key influencer. Keep an eye on the 3Q24F outlook...

Patrick Liao

HK Connect SOUTHBOUND Flows (To 26 Jan 2024); ETFs and High Div SOEs Again BIG Buys, Tech Sold

SOUTHBOUND flows were positive on the week but most of the net buying was in the big two ETFs. The trend of buying low PER high div SOEs continues....

Travis Lundy

Nvidia's success in China may be short-lived due to the increasing number of failure points as model compute scales. Meanwhile, Huawei's Ascend...

UMC's 2Q24F outlook is slightly improving, with Novatek Microelectronics Corp potentially being a key influencer. Keep an eye on the 3Q24F outlook...