Head of Research, IPOs & Placements, Aequitas Research

Sumeet Singh

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements

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.

Equity Capital Markets

Weilong Delicious Global Holdi / Equity Capital Markets

<p>Weilong Delicious Global (WDG), a spicy snack food company in China, aims to raise around US$1bn in its Hong Kong IPO. </p><p>WDG sells products across three categories: seasoned flour products,  vegetable products and Bean-based and other products. According to Frost &amp; Sullivan (F&amp;S), in terms of retail sales value in 2020, WDG ranked first among all spicy snack food enterprises in China, with a market share of 5.7%, and ranked first in each of the seasoned flour product and spicy vegetable snack product categories.</p><p>Overall revenue growth has been strong at 23% YoY in 2019 and 21.7% in 2020 driven both by an increase in volumes and prices over 2019-20. Vegetable products have been the fastest growing category with a CAGR of 98% over FY18-20.</p><p>Along with strong revenue growth, WDG gross profit growth has been even stronger, with gross profit growing by 25-31% YoY over 2018-20. PAT grew at 25-38% over 2018-20.</p>

Weilong Delicious Global (WDG), a spicy snack food company in China, aims to raise around US$1bn in its Hong Kong IPO. WDG sells products across three categories: seasoned flour products,  vegetable products and Bean-based and other products. According to Frost &amp; Sullivan (F&amp;S), in terms of retail sales value in 2020, WDG ranked first among all spicy snack food enterprises in China, with a market share of 5.7%, and ranked first in each of the seasoned flour product and spicy vegetable snack product categories.Overall revenue growth has been strong at 23% YoY in 2019 and 21.7% in 2020 driven both by an increase in volumes and prices over 2019-20. Vegetable products have been the fastest growing category with a CAGR of 98% over FY18-20.Along with strong revenue growth, WDG gross profit growth has been even stronger, with gross profit growing by 25-31% YoY over 2018-20. PAT grew at 25-38% over 2018-20.

Weilong Delicious Global Pre-IPO - The Positives - Fast Growth, Strong Backers

<div>
<p><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/nongfu-spring" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28955:1" rel="noopener">Nongfu Spring (9633 HK)</a> had one of the best debuts for large IPOs last year. Despite the recent correction, the stock is still trading 92.5% above its listing price. </p>
<p>In this note, we will talk about the prospects of large trades triggered by the lock-up expiry.</p>
</div><div>
<div><p>We have covered various aspects of the company in our earlier IPO notes:</p></div>
<div><ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/nongfu-spring-pre-ipo-the-positives-leaves-one-thirsty-for-more" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nongfu Spring Pre-IPO - The Positives - Leaves One Thirsty for More</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/nongfu-spring-pre-ipo-the-negatives-doesn-t-need-to-list-or-expand-production-facilities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nongfu Spring Pre-IPO - The Negatives - Doesn’t Need to List or Expand Production Facilities</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/nongfu-spring-pre-ipo-peer-comparison-superior-margins-and-growth" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nongfu Spring Pre-IPO - Peer Comparison - Superior Margins and Growth</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/nongfu-spring-pre-ipo-first-stab-at-valuation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nongfu Spring Pre-IPO - First Stab at Valuation</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/nongfu-spring-pre-ipo-phip-updates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nongfu Spring Pre-IPO - PHIP Updates</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/nongfu-spring-pre-ipo-updates-to-valuation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nongfu Spring Pre-IPO - Updates to Valuation</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/nongfu-spring-ipo-not-cheap-by-any-measure-but-is-a-quality-name" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nongfu Spring IPO - Not Cheap by Any Measure but Is a Quality Name</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/nongfu-spring-ipo-trading-update-strong-subscription-levels-in-a-league-of-its-own" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nongfu Spring IPO Trading Update - Strong Subscription Levels, in a League of Its Own</a></li>
</ul></div>
</div>


Nongfu Spring (9633 HK) had one of the best debuts for large IPOs last year. Despite the recent correction, the stock is still trading 92.5% above its listing price. 
In this note, we will talk about the prospects of large trades triggered by the lock-up expiry.

We have covered various aspects of the company in our earlier IPO notes:

Nongfu Spring Pre-IPO - The Positives - Leaves One Thirsty for More
Nongfu Spring Pre-IPO - The Negatives - Doesn’t Need to List or Expand Production Facilities
Nongfu Spring Pre-IPO - Peer Comparison - Superior Margins and Growth
Nongfu Spring Pre-IPO - First Stab at Valuation
Nongfu Spring Pre-IPO - PHIP Updates
Nongfu Spring Pre-IPO - Updates to Valuation
Nongfu Spring IPO - Not Cheap by Any Measure but Is a Quality Name
Nongfu Spring IPO Trading Update - Strong Subscription Levels, in a League of Its Own



Nongfu Spring Lock-Up Could Correct the Tiny Float and Limited Trading

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One, Periscope Analytics

Brian Freitas

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One

Quantitative Analysis

<div><p>The Asia Short Interest weekly looks at moves in market wide short interest and highlights movements in stock specific short interest across Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan using the last available data published by the relevant authorities.</p></div><div><p>Hong Kong saw shorts rise on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/meituan-dianping" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26970:1" rel="noopener">Meituan (3690 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/wuxi-apptec" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:23679:1" rel="noopener">Wuxi Biologics (2269 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/haidilao-international-holding-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27044:1" rel="noopener">Haidilao (6862 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/yihai-int-l-holding-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22803:1" rel="noopener">Yihai Int’L Holding (1579 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sunny-optical-tech" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13363:1" rel="noopener">Sunny Optical (2382 HK)</a> while there was short covering on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tencent-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26:1" rel="noopener">Tencent Holdings (700 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ping-an-insurance-grp-co-of-china-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12880:1" rel="noopener">Ping An Insurance (H) (2318 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/country-garden-services-holdings-company-limited" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27343:1" rel="noopener">Country Garden Services Holdings (6098 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/baidu-inc-a55ca720-5968-48f0-8194-ac94390d065c" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:32212:1" rel="noopener">Baidu (9888 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/zhongsheng-group-holdings" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:10573:1" rel="noopener">Zhongsheng Group (881 HK)</a>. Shorts increased in the Consumer Discretionary, Health Care and Information Technology sectors, and decreased in the Communication Services and Financials sectors.</p></div><div><p>In Japan, stocks that saw the most shorts were <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/nexon-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:16032:1" rel="noopener">Nexon (3659 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/orix-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9936:1" rel="noopener">Orix Corp (8591 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/toshiba-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:637:1" rel="noopener">Toshiba Corp (6502 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hitachi-metals-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8561:1" rel="noopener">Hitachi Metals (5486 JP)</a> while shorts decreased on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/shiseido-company-limited" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:5718:1" rel="noopener">Shiseido Company (4911 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tokai-carbon-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9145:1" rel="noopener">Tokai Carbon (5301 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/yaskawa-electric-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:2458:1" rel="noopener">Yaskawa Electric (6506 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/canon-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1:1" rel="noopener">Canon Inc (7751 JP)</a>. Shorts increased in the Financials and Communication Services sectors, and decreased in the Information Technology and Consumer Staples sectors.</p></div><div><p>In Korea, shorts decreased on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/samsung-biologics-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22932:1" rel="noopener">Samsung Biologics Co., (207940 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/samsung-electronics-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:191:1" rel="noopener">Samsung Electronics (005930 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/celltrion-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:991:1" rel="noopener">Celltrion Inc (068270 KS)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/samsung-sdi-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:503:1" rel="noopener">Samsung SDI (006400 KS)</a> during the week.</p></div><div><p>Stocks in Taiwan that saw the highest increase in shorts were <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/yageo-corporation" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13212:1" rel="noopener">Yageo Corporation (2327 TT)</a>, <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>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/evergreen-marine-corp-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:15428:1" rel="noopener">Evergreen Marine Corp (2603 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/taiwan-semiconductor-manufacturing-company" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11230:1" rel="noopener">TSMC (2330 TT)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/fitipower-integrated-tech" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8712:1" rel="noopener">Fitipower Integrated Tech (4961 TT)</a> while shorts were covered on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/genius-electronic-optical-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9632:1" rel="noopener">Genius Electronic Optical (3406 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hannstar-display-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13922:1" rel="noopener">Hannstar Display (6116 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/taiwan-cement" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:19736:1" rel="noopener">Taiwan Cement (1101 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/focaltech-systems-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11240:1" rel="noopener">Focaltech Systems (3545 TT)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/winbond-electronics-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9177:1" rel="noopener">Winbond Electronics (2344 TT)</a>. </p></div>

The Asia Short Interest weekly looks at moves in market wide short interest and highlights movements in stock specific short interest across Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan using the last available data published by the relevant authorities.Hong Kong saw shorts rise on Meituan (3690 HK), Wuxi Biologics (2269 HK), Haidilao (6862 HK), Yihai Int’L Holding (1579 HK) and Sunny Optical (2382 HK) while there was short covering on Tencent Holdings (700 HK), Ping An Insurance (H) (2318 HK), Country Garden Services Holdings (6098 HK), Baidu (9888 HK) and Zhongsheng Group (881 HK). Shorts increased in the Consumer Discretionary, Health Care and Information Technology sectors, and decreased in the Communication Services and Financials sectors.In Japan, stocks that saw the most shorts were Nexon (3659 JP), Orix Corp (8591 JP), Toshiba Corp (6502 JP) and Hitachi Metals (5486 JP) while shorts decreased on Shiseido Company (4911 JP), Tokai Carbon (5301 JP), Yaskawa Electric (6506 JP) and Canon Inc (7751 JP). Shorts increased in the Financials and Communication Services sectors, and decreased in the Information Technology and Consumer Staples sectors.In Korea, shorts decreased on Samsung Biologics Co., (207940 KS), Samsung Electronics (005930 KS), Celltrion Inc (068270 KS) and Samsung SDI (006400 KS) during the week.Stocks in Taiwan that saw the highest increase in shorts were Yageo Corporation (2327 TT), Novatek Microelectronics Corp (3034 TT), Evergreen Marine Corp (2603 TT), TSMC (2330 TT) and Fitipower Integrated Tech (4961 TT) while shorts were covered on Genius Electronic Optical (3406 TT), Hannstar Display (6116 TT), Taiwan Cement (1101 TT), Focaltech Systems (3545 TT) and Winbond Electronics (2344 TT). 

Asia Short Interest: Meituan, WuxiBio, Tencent, Nexon, Orix, Toshiba, Shiseido, Samsung, Hannstar

<div>
<p>Bairong raised around US$508m in its Hong Kong IPO. </p>
</div>
<div>
<p>We have covered various aspects of the deal in our earlier notes:</p>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/bairong-pre-ipo-the-positives-largest-independent-big-data-analytics-provider" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bairong Pre-IPO - The Positives - Largest Independent Big-Data Analytics Provider,</a> </li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/bairong-pre-ipo-the-negatives-playing-with-its-own-data" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bairong Pre-IPO - The Negatives - Playing with Its Own Data</a>,</li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/bairong-pre-ipo-earnings-forecast-peer-comparison-and-valuation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bairong Pre-IPO - Earnings Forecast, Peer Comparison and Valuation, and</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/bairong-pre-ipo-phip-and-valuation-updates-better-4q20-but-client-data-isn-t-as-encouraging" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bairong Pre-IPO - PHIP and Valuation Updates - Better 4Q20, but Client Data Isn’t as Encouraging</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/bairong-ipo-decent-valuation-probably-weighed-down-by-regulation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bairong IPO - Decent Valuation Probably Weighed Down by Regulation</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<p>In this note, we will talk about deal dynamics and updates since our last note.</p>
</div>


Bairong raised around US$508m in its Hong Kong IPO. 


We have covered various aspects of the deal in our earlier notes:




Bairong Pre-IPO - The Positives - Largest Independent Big-Data Analytics Provider, 

Bairong Pre-IPO - The Negatives - Playing with Its Own Data,
Bairong Pre-IPO - Earnings Forecast, Peer Comparison and Valuation, and
Bairong Pre-IPO - PHIP and Valuation Updates - Better 4Q20, but Client Data Isn’t as Encouraging
Bairong IPO - Decent Valuation Probably Weighed Down by Regulation



In this note, we will talk about deal dynamics and updates since our last note.


Bairong IPO Trading - Strong Overall Demand but Comes with Large Retail Allocation

Investment Research - Asia Consumer Sector, Investory

Devi Subhakesan

Investment Research - Asia Consumer Sector

ASIA CONSUMER: INSIGHTS AND INVESTMENT IDEAS

Investory

Investory is a Singapore-based boutique independent equity research firm founded in January 2017 with a primary focus on consumption themes across Asia-Pacific.

We aim to generate investible ideas based on consumption trends and outlook. We screen our ideas on several parameters - product potential, long-term growth and management commitment being the most critical.  We follow a fundamental analysis approach in our stock selection process and are not restricted by market cap.

We aspire to grow into a leading source of unbiased research, free of conflict of interest, for investors yearning for independent and disciplined analysis. 

We also undertake bespoke research mandates to support our Institutional clients’ investment needs.

Our team comprises of professionals with extensive experience in the Asian equity markets, in areas ranging from research, servicing institutional clients and investment management.

Equity Bottom-Up

Haidilao International Holding / Equity Bottom-Up

<p>In this insight, we discuss why we believe <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/haidilao-international-holding-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27044:1" rel="noopener">Haidilao (6862 HK)</a> at current prices has a higher downside risk versus upside potential given limited visibility of near term operational recovery and its premium valuation.</p><p><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/haidilao-international-holding-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27044:1" rel="noopener">Haidilao (6862 HK)</a> had issued a profit warning that it is <em>expected to record a decrease of approximately 90% in net profit for the year ended Dec 2020</em> versus the previous year; this implies a likely recovery in earnings in 2H2020 vs 1H2020 but not significant enough to match pre-COVID levels nor street estimates.<strong> Detailed results are expected this week on March 23rd.</strong></p><p>We believe <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/haidilao-international-holding-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27044:1" rel="noopener">Haidilao (6862 HK)</a>'s pace of sales recovery to be slower versus QSR peers (1) in the near term from ongoing restrictions in the social and dining scene, following cluster outbreaks, and (2) in the medium term from a shift in customer preference towards off-premise dining. Unlike QSR peer, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/yum-china-holdings-inc-0533692c-6dae-4014-baa1-ed0b050638f2" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:29259:1" rel="noopener">Yum China Holdings Inc (9987 HK)</a> that managed to recover most of the COVID-led fall in dining demand by growing off-premise dining, <strong>we believe  <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/haidilao-international-holding-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27044:1" rel="noopener">Haidilao (6862 HK)</a> may find it difficult to pivot given experiential fine dining was core to its appeal and value positioning.</strong> Despite a difficult operating environment, the stock is up 83% YoY; a steep upswing in February this year was led by reports of it being included in HongKong's benchmark HangSeng Index from mid-March.</p>

In this insight, we discuss why we believe Haidilao (6862 HK) at current prices has a higher downside risk versus upside potential given limited visibility of near term operational recovery and its premium valuation.Haidilao (6862 HK) had issued a profit warning that it is expected to record a decrease of approximately 90% in net profit for the year ended Dec 2020 versus the previous year; this implies a likely recovery in earnings in 2H2020 vs 1H2020 but not significant enough to match pre-COVID levels nor street estimates. Detailed results are expected this week on March 23rd.We believe Haidilao (6862 HK)'s pace of sales recovery to be slower versus QSR peers (1) in the near term from ongoing restrictions in the social and dining scene, following cluster outbreaks, and (2) in the medium term from a shift in customer preference towards off-premise dining. Unlike QSR peer, Yum China Holdings Inc (9987 HK) that managed to recover most of the COVID-led fall in dining demand by growing off-premise dining, we believe  Haidilao (6862 HK) may find it difficult to pivot given experiential fine dining was core to its appeal and value positioning. Despite a difficult operating environment, the stock is up 83% YoY; a steep upswing in February this year was led by reports of it being included in HongKong's benchmark HangSeng Index from mid-March.

Haidilao (6862 HK): Hot Pots Don't Pivot Easily.

China

Haidilao International Holding Ltd. operates Chinese cuisine restaurant brand focusing on hot pot cuisine. The Company provides hot pots, soup bases, dipping sauces, drinks, prepared food, and other products. Haidilao International Holding opens restaurants in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, and the United States.

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Haidilao International Holding (6862 HK)

Weilong Delicious Global Pre-IPO - The Positives - Fast Growth, Strong Backers

Weilong Delicious Global, a spicy snack food company in China, aims to raise around US$1bn in its Hong Kong IPO. It recently undertook a pre-IPO...

Sumeet Singh

Nongfu Spring Lock-Up Could Correct the Tiny Float and Limited Trading

Nongfu Spring had one of the best debuts for large IPOs last year. The stock is still trading 92.5% above its listing price. We talk about the...

Sumeet Singh

Asia Short Interest: Meituan, WuxiBio, Tencent, Nexon, Orix, Toshiba, Shiseido, Samsung, Hannstar

The Insight looks at large short interest movements across HK, Japan, Korea and Taiwan stocks and highlights large increases/decreases in shorts to...

Brian Freitas

Bairong IPO Trading - Strong Overall Demand but Comes with Large Retail Allocation

Bairong raised around US$508m in its Hong Kong IPO. We have covered various aspects of the deal in our earlier notes. In this note, we will talk...

Sumeet Singh

Haidilao (6862 HK): Hot Pots Don't Pivot Easily.

Downside risks outweigh upside potential given the expected slower pace of sales recovery versus peers and premium valuations. Difficult to pivot...

Devi Subhakesan

Price Gauge

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