HK/China Equity Long-Short

Osbert Tang, CFA

Equity Capital Markets

<p>We think the 72.7% YoY plunge in gross profit at <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/jd-logistics" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:31500:1" rel="noopener">JD Logistics (JDL HK)</a> in 1Q21 reflects that it lacks pricing power, even though it is the largest player in the integrated supply chain logistics services industry. Meanwhile, the express industry witnessed an overall YoY contraction in unit revenue and profitability in 1Q21, continuing a structural declining trend. With a market share of 2.7%, JDL is not expected to see material change in its profitability even if this is doubled as the industry stays fragmented and it will still be susceptible to industry price competition, in our view.</p><p>Instead, we see <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/jd-com-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:29043:1" rel="noopener">JD.com Inc. (9618 HK)</a> the beneficiary of JDL's significant capital investment in logistics infrastructure over the near-to-medium term. In fact, there are other more attractive pure logistics options like <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sinotrans-limited-h" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1321:1" rel="noopener">Sinotrans (598 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kerry-logistics-network-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:367:1" rel="noopener">Kerry Logistics Network (636 HK)</a> which have longer track record, better profitability and higher dividend yield. Fundamentally, we are not a big fan of JDL at its proposed valuations.</p>

We think the 72.7% YoY plunge in gross profit at JD Logistics (JDL HK) in 1Q21 reflects that it lacks pricing power, even though it is the largest player in the integrated supply chain logistics services industry. Meanwhile, the express industry witnessed an overall YoY contraction in unit revenue and profitability in 1Q21, continuing a structural declining trend. With a market share of 2.7%, JDL is not expected to see material change in its profitability even if this is doubled as the industry stays fragmented and it will still be susceptible to industry price competition, in our view.Instead, we see JD.com Inc. (9618 HK) the beneficiary of JDL's significant capital investment in logistics infrastructure over the near-to-medium term. In fact, there are other more attractive pure logistics options like Sinotrans (598 HK) and Kerry Logistics Network (636 HK) which have longer track record, better profitability and higher dividend yield. Fundamentally, we are not a big fan of JDL at its proposed valuations.

JD Logistics IPO: We Play Devil's Advocate

Global TMT analyst with Asia ex-Japan focus.

Mitchell Kim

Equity Bottom-Up

<p>Coupang reported its quarterly earnings for the first time since its IPO on 11 March 2021.  The stock lost USD5 billion in market value in the subsequent trading session.  I offer three reasons why the stock fell even though the revenue growth of 74% met the consensus forecast (my estimate was much higher): </p><ol>
<li>Management's admission that strong revenue growth was against the COVID-19 stimulated demand in 1Q20 (again helped by the stronger won).  Comparing 2Q21 to 4Q21 against the even stronger revenue growth quarters -- 2Q20 to 4Q20 -- will be more challenging.  (Please refer back to my initiation report, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/coupang-cpng-us-going-mano-e-mano-with-jd-com" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:49065" rel="noopener">Coupang (CPNG US): Going Mano E Mano with JD.com</a>.) </li>
<li>Active customer growth slowed in 1Q21.  While the revenue per customer increased by 44%, it is decelerated from 59% YoY growth in 4Q20 by my estimate.   </li>
<li>Operating losses expanded nearly 4x (3x excluding the IPO-related costs), weakening the management's argument that operating leverage was improving.  I argue in my previous report that when revenue growth decelerates to 50-60%, the company has to demonstrate that profit is near.     </li>
</ol><p>With the stock trading at 2.7x EV/Revenue compared to <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/jd-com-inc-adr" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:446:1" rel="noopener">JD.com Inc (ADR) (JD US)</a>'s 0.6x FY21, there is further downside risk, in my view.  </p>

Coupang reported its quarterly earnings for the first time since its IPO on 11 March 2021.  The stock lost USD5 billion in market value in the subsequent trading session.  I offer three reasons why the stock fell even though the revenue growth of 74% met the consensus forecast (my estimate was much higher): 
Management's admission that strong revenue growth was against the COVID-19 stimulated demand in 1Q20 (again helped by the stronger won).  Comparing 2Q21 to 4Q21 against the even stronger revenue growth quarters -- 2Q20 to 4Q20 -- will be more challenging.  (Please refer back to my initiation report, Coupang (CPNG US): Going Mano E Mano with JD.com.) 
Active customer growth slowed in 1Q21.  While the revenue per customer increased by 44%, it is decelerated from 59% YoY growth in 4Q20 by my estimate.   
Operating losses expanded nearly 4x (3x excluding the IPO-related costs), weakening the management's argument that operating leverage was improving.  I argue in my previous report that when revenue growth decelerates to 50-60%, the company has to demonstrate that profit is near.     
With the stock trading at 2.7x EV/Revenue compared to JD.com Inc (ADR) (JD US)'s 0.6x FY21, there is further downside risk, in my view.  

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.

<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>, the largest online audio platform in China, is looking to raise around US$1bn in its US listing. </p></div><div><p>As of 1Q21, it had 250m average MAUs, which included 104m mobile MAUs through its apps and 146m MAUs through internet-of-things (IoT) and other third-party platforms. As per CIC, it accounted for 75% of total mobile listening time among all online audio platforms in China. It had 5.2m active content creators in 2020.</p></div><div>
<p>We have covered various aspects of the deal in our previous notes:<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/ximalaya-pre-ipo-the-positives-a-whole-lot-of-listening" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a></p>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/ximalaya-pre-ipo-the-positives-a-whole-lot-of-listening" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Ximalaya Pre-IPO - The Positives - A Whole Lot of Listening</a><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/ximalaya-pre-ipo-the-negatives" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a>
</li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/ximalaya-pre-ipo-the-negatives" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ximalaya Pre-IPO - The Negatives</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/ximalaya-pre-ipo-peer-comparison" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ximalaya Pre-IPO - Peer Comparison</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/ximalaya-xima-has-large-market-share-but-small-competitors-have-big-bosses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ximalaya (XIMA): Has Large Market Share, But Small Competitors Have Big Bosses</a></li>
</ul>
</div><div><p>In this note, we will talk about earnings and valuation.</p></div>

Ximalaya (XIMA US), the largest online audio platform in China, is looking to raise around US$1bn in its US listing. As of 1Q21, it had 250m average MAUs, which included 104m mobile MAUs through its apps and 146m MAUs through internet-of-things (IoT) and other third-party platforms. As per CIC, it accounted for 75% of total mobile listening time among all online audio platforms in China. It had 5.2m active content creators in 2020.
We have covered various aspects of the deal in our previous notes:


 Ximalaya Pre-IPO - The Positives - A Whole Lot of Listening

Ximalaya Pre-IPO - The Negatives
Ximalaya Pre-IPO - Peer Comparison
Ximalaya (XIMA): Has Large Market Share, But Small Competitors Have Big Bosses

In this note, we will talk about earnings and valuation.

Ximalaya Pre-IPO - Earnings Forecast and Valuation

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

Brian Freitas

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One

Quantitative Analysis

<p>After outperforming its global peers over the last year, the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hang-seng-tech-index" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:31367:1" rel="noopener">Hang Seng Tech Index (HSTECH INDEX)</a> has had a big drawdown that has brought its performance closer to its peers. Today's drop has closed the gap even further.</p><p>With a backdrop of heightened US-China tensions, increased regulatory pressure from the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and an increased focus on monopolies (or perceived monopolies), investors have been happy to sell first given the gains they were sitting on, plus the valuation premium.</p><p>With valuations now lining up with their global peers, Hang Seng Indexes has announced that the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) had approved 7 ETFs and 1 Index Fund that will track the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hang-seng-tech-index" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:31367:1" rel="noopener">Hang Seng Tech Index (HSTECH INDEX)</a>. The mainland ETFs could garner a large amount of assets quickly given that most index members are household names. Additionally, stocks like <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/alibaba-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28434:1" rel="noopener">Alibaba Group (9988 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/jd-com-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:29043:1" rel="noopener">JD.com Inc. (9618 HK)</a> are not eligible for Southbound Stock Connect and the ETFs will offer investors access to those names.</p><p>With the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hang-seng-tech-index" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:31367:1" rel="noopener">Hang Seng Tech Index (HSTECH INDEX)</a> (or the "NASDAQ of the East" as it is called) underperforming the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/nasdaq-100-stock-index" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26197:1" rel="noopener">Nasdaq-100 Stock Index (NDX INDEX)</a> (of the West) over the last few months, there could be an opportunity to buy the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hang-seng-tech-index" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:31367:1" rel="noopener">Hang Seng Tech Index (HSTECH INDEX)</a> futures and hedge with <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/nasdaq-100-stock-index" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26197:1" rel="noopener">Nasdaq-100 Stock Index (NDX INDEX)</a> futures.</p>

After outperforming its global peers over the last year, the Hang Seng Tech Index (HSTECH INDEX) has had a big drawdown that has brought its performance closer to its peers. Today's drop has closed the gap even further.With a backdrop of heightened US-China tensions, increased regulatory pressure from the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and an increased focus on monopolies (or perceived monopolies), investors have been happy to sell first given the gains they were sitting on, plus the valuation premium.With valuations now lining up with their global peers, Hang Seng Indexes has announced that the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) had approved 7 ETFs and 1 Index Fund that will track the Hang Seng Tech Index (HSTECH INDEX). The mainland ETFs could garner a large amount of assets quickly given that most index members are household names. Additionally, stocks like Alibaba Group (9988 HK), Baidu (9888 HK) and JD.com Inc. (9618 HK) are not eligible for Southbound Stock Connect and the ETFs will offer investors access to those names.With the Hang Seng Tech Index (HSTECH INDEX) (or the "NASDAQ of the East" as it is called) underperforming the Nasdaq-100 Stock Index (NDX INDEX) (of the West) over the last few months, there could be an opportunity to buy the Hang Seng Tech Index (HSTECH INDEX) futures and hedge with Nasdaq-100 Stock Index (NDX INDEX) futures.

Hang Seng TECH Index: How Much Lower Can It Go? CSRC Approves 7 ETFs

Overseas Chinese Equities, Aequitas Research

Ming Lu

Overseas Chinese Equities

<ul>
<li>The government warned that Meituan should raise delivery workers’ benefits and reduce their workload.</li>
<li>The CEO quoted a poem on a social media and we believe all media reports misunderstand it.</li>
<li>We reduced the target price to HK$230.</li>
</ul>
<p>Our previous coverage on Meituan:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/meituan-3690-hk-forthcoming-punishment-will-benefit-alibaba" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:50794" rel="noopener">Meituan (3690 HK): Forthcoming Punishment Will Benefit Alibaba</a></li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/meituan-3690-hk-meituan-spending-money-but-agents-accumulating-customers-for-themselves" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:50118" rel="noopener">Meituan (3690 HK): Meituan Spending Money, But Agents Accumulating Customers for Themselves</a> </li>
</ul>


The government warned that Meituan should raise delivery workers’ benefits and reduce their workload.
The CEO quoted a poem on a social media and we believe all media reports misunderstand it.
We reduced the target price to HK$230.

Our previous coverage on Meituan:

Meituan (3690 HK): Forthcoming Punishment Will Benefit Alibaba

Meituan (3690 HK): Meituan Spending Money, But Agents Accumulating Customers for Themselves 


Meituan (3690 HK): CEO's Poem, as Response to Authorities' Sweat Shop Warning, Could Be Disaster

China

JD.com, Inc. is an online direct sales company in China. The Company offers a wide selection of products through its website and mobile applications. JD.com sells appliances, computers, digital products, communication products, garments, books, and household items to consumers and vendors.

Price Gauge
52-week Range	0.00 - 0.00
Market Cap (USDm)	0.00
P/E	0.00
Dividend (Yield)	0.00

JD.com (9618 HK)

JD Logistics IPO: We Play Devil's Advocate

We think the weak 1Q21 gross profit and margin at JDL reflect its lack of pricing power in the industry despite its largest market share position....

Osbert Tang, CFA

Coupang (CPNG US): Crack in the Armor

Coupang's first earnings report after the IPO was disappointing. Operating leverage is nowhere in sight. Expect revenue growth deceleration to a...

Mitchell Kim

Ximalaya Pre-IPO - Earnings Forecast and Valuation

Ximalaya (XIMA US), the largest online audio platform in China, is looking to raise around US$1bn in its US listing. As of 1Q21, it had 250m...

Sumeet Singh

Hang Seng TECH Index: How Much Lower Can It Go? CSRC Approves 7 ETFs

The Hang Seng TECH Index has had a large drawdown over the last couple of months on regulatory pressure and stretched valuations. With new ETFs...

Brian Freitas

Meituan (3690 HK): CEO's Poem, as Response to Authorities' Sweat Shop Warning, Could Be Disaster

The government warned that Meituan should raise delivery workers’ benefits and reduce their workload. The CEO quoted a poem on a social media and...

Ming Lu

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)