Equity Analyst, LightStream Research

Shifara Samsudeen, ACMA, CGMA

Equity Analyst

Long-Short Analysis on Japan, Asia and the World

LightStream Research

LightStream conducts quantitatively rigorous and data-driven analysis with a focus on Japan and Asia.

We consistently cover the Tech, Consumer and Industrial sectors, and provide ECM and Events coverage more broadly.

We supplement traditional qualitative insights from company relationships with a robust quantitative foundation that examines as much historical data as is available.
We further refine the accuracy of our insights and calls through the use of alternative data to flesh out current trends, and through a valuation framework that emphasises non-superficial peer group selection and a proper attempt to understand the metrics and changes that have driven security valuations in the past.

Equity Bottom-Up

<p><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/baidu-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:179:1" rel="noopener">Baidu (BIDU US)</a>  announced 1Q2021 results on Tuesday (18<sup>th</sup> May) and this marked the company’s first results post its secondary listing on HKEx. Baidu’s revenue for the quarter grew 24.8% YoY to RMB28bn driven by a 34.2% YoY increase in revenue from Baidu Core. The company reported an operating profit of RMB2.8bn (an OPM 9.9%) whereas Baidu made operating losses of RMB437m in the same quarter a year ago due to the pandemic.</p><p>Baidu’s 1Q revenues beat consensus estimates by 2.7% while reported operating profit for the quarter beat consensus by a huge 70.2% margin.  </p>

Baidu (BIDU US)  announced 1Q2021 results on Tuesday (18th May) and this marked the company’s first results post its secondary listing on HKEx. Baidu’s revenue for the quarter grew 24.8% YoY to RMB28bn driven by a 34.2% YoY increase in revenue from Baidu Core. The company reported an operating profit of RMB2.8bn (an OPM 9.9%) whereas Baidu made operating losses of RMB437m in the same quarter a year ago due to the pandemic.Baidu’s 1Q revenues beat consensus estimates by 2.7% while reported operating profit for the quarter beat consensus by a huge 70.2% margin.  

Baidu 1Q21: Post-Pandemic Recovery in Online Marketing and New Initiatives Drive Earnings Beat

Overseas Chinese Equities, Aequitas Research

Ming Lu

Overseas Chinese Equities

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.

<ul>
<li>The main business, game, continued to slow down in 1Q20.</li>
<li>We believe NTES is losing brand advantage, because the game industry has changed.</li>
<li>We believe the operating margin will decline when non-game businesses account for a larger proportion of total revenues.</li>
<li>We set a downside of 17%.</li>
</ul>


The main business, game, continued to slow down in 1Q20.
We believe NTES is losing brand advantage, because the game industry has changed.
We believe the operating margin will decline when non-game businesses account for a larger proportion of total revenues.
We set a downside of 17%.


NetEase (NTES): 1Q21, Game Slowing Down as Game Industry Has Changed

ASEAN Insight Provider, CrossASEAN Research

Angus Mackintosh

ASEAN Insight Provider

CrossASEAN Research

At CrossASEAN Research we strive to produce unbiased and differentiated on the ground insights on companies across South East Asia. Our Research is produced for the most part after face to face meetings and conversations with company management to dig deep into the long term vision and strategy of the companies we cover. We seek to deliver investable and actionable themes on sectors and markets across SE Asia, often in collaboration with other Insight Providers across the region, pooling the vast experience of the analysts within the Smartkarma Ecosystem. We also offer bespoke work and tailor made trips for our clients. 

Insights across South East Asia

Private Capital Markets

GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk PT / Private Capital Markets

<p><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/gojek" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:25976:1" rel="noopener">Gojek</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tokopedia-pt" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24239:1" rel="noopener">Tokopedia</a> have finally announced that they will merge to form GoTo Group, in what will be Indonesia's largest-ever business deal to date. The new GoTo Group will also seek a dual listing both in Jakarta and the US but it is yet unclear what shape the listing will take at this stage. </p>
<p>This will create an Indonesia-focused digital powerhouse with exposure to Ride-Hailing, Food Delivery, Digital Payments, Digital Finance, and e-commerce, making it a formidable player in Indonesia's booming digital economy.</p>
<p>The merged entity will present a challenge, not just to <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sea-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8509:1" rel="noopener">Sea Ltd (SE US)</a> and its Shopee platform but more pertinently for <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/grabtaxi-holdings-pte-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26950:1" rel="noopener">Grab,</a> which is in the process of seeking a listing in the US through the largest SPAC listing to date.</p>
<div>
<p>One key area of overlap between <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/gojek" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:25976:1" rel="noopener">Gojek</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tokopedia-pt" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24239:1" rel="noopener">Tokopedia</a> is on digital payments, where GoPay and OVO compete head-on. Given that Tokopedia holds a 36.1% stake in OVO, it is unclear what comes next although it is likely Tokopedia will look to migrate its customers to GoPay and sell its stake in OVO.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/gojek" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:25976:1" rel="noopener">Gojek </a>has already stepped up its move into the digital banking space through the recent increase in its stake in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/bank-jago-tbk-pt" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:31094:1" rel="noopener">Bank Jago (ARTO IJ)</a> to 22% but it also has strong backers for GoPay in the shape of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/facebook-inc-a" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:665:1" rel="noopener">Facebook Inc A (FB US)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/paypal-holdings-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:4747:1" rel="noopener">Paypal Holdings (PYPL US).</a></p>
</div>
<div>
<p>The combined entity will be a huge enabler for MSMEs from food providers to small businesses and as a result, will likely get significant support from the Indonesian government. </p>
</div>
<div>
<p>There will be significant synergies between the two companies in areas such as deliveries, payments, and financial services, with an ever-increasing use-case for GoPay.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tokopedia-pt" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24239:1" rel="noopener"></a>The combined size of the two companies would be around US$18bn under the latest valuations but it is suggested that it could command a valuation of US$40bn with a US listing, although it is not yet sure what shape or form that listing will take although its looks likely it will be a dual listing by the end of this year.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p>A straight IPO rather than a SPAC listing would be the most straightforward and the preferred option, even if it takes a bit longer to execute. The merged entity will be a more formidable adversary for other digital players and especially <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/grabtaxi-holdings-pte-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26950:1" rel="noopener">Grab (0967655D SP)</a> but also for Shopee (<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sea-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8509:1" rel="noopener">Sea Ltd (SE US))</a>,  <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/lazada-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26148:1" rel="noopener">Lazada Group (LAZADA SP)</a>, and Bukalapak.</p>
</div>

Gojek and Tokopedia have finally announced that they will merge to form GoTo Group, in what will be Indonesia's largest-ever business deal to date. The new GoTo Group will also seek a dual listing both in Jakarta and the US but it is yet unclear what shape the listing will take at this stage. 
This will create an Indonesia-focused digital powerhouse with exposure to Ride-Hailing, Food Delivery, Digital Payments, Digital Finance, and e-commerce, making it a formidable player in Indonesia's booming digital economy.
The merged entity will present a challenge, not just to Sea Ltd (SE US) and its Shopee platform but more pertinently for Grab, which is in the process of seeking a listing in the US through the largest SPAC listing to date.

One key area of overlap between Gojek and Tokopedia is on digital payments, where GoPay and OVO compete head-on. Given that Tokopedia holds a 36.1% stake in OVO, it is unclear what comes next although it is likely Tokopedia will look to migrate its customers to GoPay and sell its stake in OVO.
Gojek has already stepped up its move into the digital banking space through the recent increase in its stake in Bank Jago (ARTO IJ) to 22% but it also has strong backers for GoPay in the shape of Facebook Inc A (FB US) and Paypal Holdings (PYPL US).


The combined entity will be a huge enabler for MSMEs from food providers to small businesses and as a result, will likely get significant support from the Indonesian government. 


There will be significant synergies between the two companies in areas such as deliveries, payments, and financial services, with an ever-increasing use-case for GoPay.
The combined size of the two companies would be around US$18bn under the latest valuations but it is suggested that it could command a valuation of US$40bn with a US listing, although it is not yet sure what shape or form that listing will take although its looks likely it will be a dual listing by the end of this year.


A straight IPO rather than a SPAC listing would be the most straightforward and the preferred option, even if it takes a bit longer to execute. The merged entity will be a more formidable adversary for other digital players and especially Grab (0967655D SP) but also for Shopee (Sea Ltd (SE US)),  Lazada Group (LAZADA SP), and Bukalapak.


IPOs and Catalysts/Events, Global Equity Research Ltd

Arun George

IPOs and Catalysts/Events

Uncompromised, Independent, Conflict-Free Research

Global Equity Research Ltd

Global Equity Research was started in 2017 by a group of experienced research professionals. It was founded on a passionate belief in the importance and the need for uncompromised, independent, conflict-free research. We aim to provide differentiated and actionable primary and bottom up fundamental research.

Equity Capital Markets

<p><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/soulgate-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:33304:1" rel="noopener">Soulgate (SSR UA)</a> is an alternative social networking platform that lets users have virtual identities and aims to recommend to each user (referred to as a Souler) curated content and other Soulers with similar personalities, lifestyles and interests, enabling more in-depth interactions and more meaningful connections. Soulgate is backed by <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tencent-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26:1" rel="noopener">Tencent (700 HK)</a> (49.9% of outstanding shares, 25.7% of outstanding shares). Soulgate has filed for a Nasdaq IPO to raise proceeds of $100 million. </p><p>Soulgate is a play on Generation Z which is a key driving force of the evolution of China’s mobile social networking industry. The percentage of revenue in China’s mobile social networking market generated by Generation Z is expected to grow from 55.8% in 2019 to 62.2% in 2024, according to iResearch.</p><div class="content-highlight"><p>At first glance, Soulgate is well-positioned to benefit from this sizeable market opportunity. The strong growth in users, fast-paced revenue growth and ongoing revenue diversification suggest that Soulgate is heading in the right direction. However, the high S&amp;M expenses which exceeded revenue in each of the last three quarters, suggests that Soulgate is aggressively chasing user growth without paying much heed to monetisation and payback periods. This modus operandi is highly reflective of growth at all costs strategy which is distinctly out of fashion in the current market where sentiment on Chinese US listings is weakening. Overall, we think that the negatives in the Soulgate story warrant a pass.  </p></div>

Soulgate (SSR UA) is an alternative social networking platform that lets users have virtual identities and aims to recommend to each user (referred to as a Souler) curated content and other Soulers with similar personalities, lifestyles and interests, enabling more in-depth interactions and more meaningful connections. Soulgate is backed by Tencent (700 HK) (49.9% of outstanding shares, 25.7% of outstanding shares). Soulgate has filed for a Nasdaq IPO to raise proceeds of $100 million. Soulgate is a play on Generation Z which is a key driving force of the evolution of China’s mobile social networking industry. The percentage of revenue in China’s mobile social networking market generated by Generation Z is expected to grow from 55.8% in 2019 to 62.2% in 2024, according to iResearch.At first glance, Soulgate is well-positioned to benefit from this sizeable market opportunity. The strong growth in users, fast-paced revenue growth and ongoing revenue diversification suggest that Soulgate is heading in the right direction. However, the high S&amp;M expenses which exceeded revenue in each of the last three quarters, suggests that Soulgate is aggressively chasing user growth without paying much heed to monetisation and payback periods. This modus operandi is highly reflective of growth at all costs strategy which is distinctly out of fashion in the current market where sentiment on Chinese US listings is weakening. Overall, we think that the negatives in the Soulgate story warrant a pass.  

<div><p><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ximalaya-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:33232:1" rel="noopener">Ximalaya (XIMA US)</a> is the largest online audio platform in China as measured by average MAUs (monthly active users), total mobile listening time, and total revenues in 2020, according to CIC. Ximalaya also has the largest audio content library and the most audio content creators in China. <br>Ximalaya is backed by <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tencent-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26:1" rel="noopener">Tencent (700 HK)</a> (5.4% of outstanding shares), <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tal-education-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1124:1" rel="noopener">TAL Education (TAL US)</a>, Sony Music Entertainment and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-literature-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24388:1" rel="noopener">China Literature (772 HK)</a>. Ximalaya has filed for an NYSE IPO to raise proceeds of $0.5-1.0 billion, according to press reports.   </p></div><div><div class="content-highlight"><p>In <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/ximalaya-ipo-initiation-out-of-tune" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:51169" rel="noopener">Ximalaya IPO Initiation: Out of Tune</a>, we stated that Ximalaya is well-positioned to benefit from this sizeable China online audio market opportunity. The strong user engagement, fast-paced revenue growth and declining loss margin suggest that Ximalaya is heading in the right direction. However, a closer look reveals concerning developments on several fronts. We concluded that the negatives in the Ximalaya story warrant a pass. In this note, we present our forecasts and take the first look at Ximalaya's potential valuation range. </p></div></div>

Ximalaya (XIMA US) is the largest online audio platform in China as measured by average MAUs (monthly active users), total mobile listening time, and total revenues in 2020, according to CIC. Ximalaya also has the largest audio content library and the most audio content creators in China.  Ximalaya is backed by Tencent (700 HK) (5.4% of outstanding shares), TAL Education (TAL US), Sony Music Entertainment and China Literature (772 HK). Ximalaya has filed for an NYSE IPO to raise proceeds of $0.5-1.0 billion, according to press reports.   In Ximalaya IPO Initiation: Out of Tune, we stated that Ximalaya is well-positioned to benefit from this sizeable China online audio market opportunity. The strong user engagement, fast-paced revenue growth and declining loss margin suggest that Ximalaya is heading in the right direction. However, a closer look reveals concerning developments on several fronts. We concluded that the negatives in the Ximalaya story warrant a pass. In this note, we present our forecasts and take the first look at Ximalaya's potential valuation range. 

China

Tencent Holdings Limited operates as an investment holding company. The Company, through its subsidiaries, provides Internet and mobile value-added services (VAS), online advertising, and e-commerce transactions. Tencent Holdings offers services to users worldwide.

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Tencent (700 HK)

Baidu 1Q21: Post-Pandemic Recovery in Online Marketing and New Initiatives Drive Earnings Beat

Baidu’s revenue for 1Q21 grew 24.8% YoY to RMB28bn driven by a 34.2% YoY increase in revenue from Baidu Core. 1Q revenues beat consensus estimates...

Shifara Samsudeen, ACMA, CGMA

NetEase (NTES): 1Q21, Game Slowing Down as Game Industry Has Changed

The main business, game, continued to slow down in 1Q20. We believe NTES is losing brand advantage, because the game industry has changed.

Ming Lu

GoTo - Enter the Green Dragon

The confirmation of the merger between Gojek and Tokopedia creates an Indonesian digital powerhouse under GoTo Group, which will seek a dual...

Angus Mackintosh

Soulgate IPO Initiation: Lost Soul

Soulgate has filed for a Nasdaq IPO to raise proceeds of $100 million. Overall, we think that the negatives in the Soulgate story warrant a pass.

Arun George

Ximalaya IPO: Valuation First-Look

Ximalaya has filed for an NYSE IPO to raise proceeds of $0.5-1.0 billion. In this note, we present our forecasts and take the first look at...

Arun George

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