HK/China Equity Long-Short

Osbert Tang, CFA

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>Adjusted net profit at <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-education-group-holdin" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18218:1" rel="noopener">China Education Group (839 HK)</a> grew 15.1% in 1H23, accelerated from 5% in 2H22. We are delighted to see resumption of interim DPS at Rmb0.164.</li>
<li>FY23 outlook will be underpinned by higher education student enrollment and tuition increase. Strengthened financial position offers opportunities for both organic and M&amp;A growth.</li>
<li>Potential upside will also come from completion of for-profit conversion at Jiangxi University of Technology. We consider its 7.9x PER, 1x P/B, 13.3% ROE and 5.5% yield attractive.</li>
</ul>


Adjusted net profit at China Education Group (839 HK) grew 15.1% in 1H23, accelerated from 5% in 2H22. We are delighted to see resumption of interim DPS at Rmb0.164.
FY23 outlook will be underpinned by higher education student enrollment and tuition increase. Strengthened financial position offers opportunities for both organic and M&amp;A growth.
Potential upside will also come from completion of for-profit conversion at Jiangxi University of Technology. We consider its 7.9x PER, 1x P/B, 13.3% ROE and 5.5% yield attractive.


China Education Group (839 HK): Sustaining the Healthy Track Record

<ul>
<li>Despite the rally in share price after trading resumption and a reasonable FY22 result, there are still several tough issues faced by <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-yuhua-education" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:23627:1" rel="noopener">China Yuhua Education (6169 HK)</a>. </li>
<li>Cash management, especially for offshore; no dividend payout in the near term; availability of CB refinancing and weakened margins are just some of the challenges. </li>
<li>Conversion to profit-basis for its schools and the operating outlook for new schools are also added issues that it needs to address. In our view, risks still outweigh return.</li>
</ul>


Despite the rally in share price after trading resumption and a reasonable FY22 result, there are still several tough issues faced by China Yuhua Education (6169 HK). 
Cash management, especially for offshore; no dividend payout in the near term; availability of CB refinancing and weakened margins are just some of the challenges. 
Conversion to profit-basis for its schools and the operating outlook for new schools are also added issues that it needs to address. In our view, risks still outweigh return.


China Yuhua Education (6169 HK): Issues Are Not over Yet

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 analyze the monthly Hong Kong Connect flows with our data engine.</li>
<li>We tabulate the top stocks by inflows, outlfows, and holding by mainland investors.</li>
<li>We highlight inflows into Meituan, HKEX, China Unicom, Shenzhou Intl, Sensetime, and outflows from Xiaomi, HSBC, Anta Sports, China Pacific.</li>
</ul>


We analyze the monthly Hong Kong Connect flows with our data engine.
We tabulate the top stocks by inflows, outlfows, and holding by mainland investors.
We highlight inflows into Meituan, HKEX, China Unicom, Shenzhou Intl, Sensetime, and outflows from Xiaomi, HSBC, Anta Sports, China Pacific.


Hong Kong Connect Flows Monthly: 12 Months of Inflows

Hope Education Group Co Ltd / Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>Despite the plunge in share price after FY22 result, we think <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hope-education-group-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27321:1" rel="noopener">Hope Education Group Co Ltd (1765 HK)</a> has not yet reached its bottom given the challenging outlook faced.</li>
<li>We are concerned about stretched financial position with gearing surged 32.5pp in last year. Heavy capex and need to repay outstanding convertible bonds will strain its cash flow.  </li>
<li>Market earnings expectations are still overly optimistic. New schools looks to drag on near-term margins while surge in staffing, primarily teacher, costs is an added pressure.</li>
</ul>


Despite the plunge in share price after FY22 result, we think Hope Education Group Co Ltd (1765 HK) has not yet reached its bottom given the challenging outlook faced.
We are concerned about stretched financial position with gearing surged 32.5pp in last year. Heavy capex and need to repay outstanding convertible bonds will strain its cash flow.  
Market earnings expectations are still overly optimistic. New schools looks to drag on near-term margins while surge in staffing, primarily teacher, costs is an added pressure.


Hope Education (1765 HK): Have We Reached the Bottom?

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>The sharp rally of China's higher education stocks on 18 Nov reflects positive sentiment from announcement of "Implementation Plan for the Project of Reaching the Standards for Running Vocational Schools".</li>
<li>For <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-education-group-holdin" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18218:1" rel="noopener">China Education Group (839 HK)</a>, potential resumption of dividend will be a driver. The 48% increase in 2022/23 registered students and 10pp utilisation growth have secured FY23 outlook.  </li>
<li>CEG's premium valuations are justified by execution capability, asset quality and earnings outlook. FY23 consensus forecasts are just too low and upgrades will be positive catalysts.</li>
</ul>


The sharp rally of China's higher education stocks on 18 Nov reflects positive sentiment from announcement of "Implementation Plan for the Project of Reaching the Standards for Running Vocational Schools".
For China Education Group (839 HK), potential resumption of dividend will be a driver. The 48% increase in 2022/23 registered students and 10pp utilisation growth have secured FY23 outlook.  
CEG's premium valuations are justified by execution capability, asset quality and earnings outlook. FY23 consensus forecasts are just too low and upgrades will be positive catalysts.


China Private Education: A Massive Comeback?

Hong Kong

Hope Education Group Co, Ltd. offers educational services. The Company provides educational training, knowledge point sharing, activities arrangement, and other services. Hope Education Group offers its services throughout China.

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Hope Education Group Co Ltd (1765 HK)

China Education Group (839 HK): Sustaining the Healthy Track Record

Higher education student enrollment and tuition increase will support FY23 growth, while stronger financial position offers opportunities for...

Osbert Tang, CFA

China Yuhua Education (6169 HK): Issues Are Not over Yet

Despite avoiding default on CBs, Yuhua still faces challenges from cash management, no near-term dividend payout, availability of CB refinancing...

Osbert Tang, CFA

Hong Kong Connect Flows Monthly: 12 Months of Inflows

We analyzed the Hong Kong Connect Scheme for December and highlight flows for Meituan, HKEX, China Unicom, Shenzhou Intl, Sensetime, Xiaomi, HSBC,...

Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

Hope Education (1765 HK): Have We Reached the Bottom?

Outlook for Hope Education is still very challenging given high cost pressure, heavy capex and tight financial position. There are significant...

Osbert Tang, CFA

China Private Education: A Massive Comeback?

China's latest announcements on vocational education suggested that private involvement in higher education will continue to be welcomed. We like...

Osbert Tang, CFA

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