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.

Event-Driven

<p><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> is Southeast Asia’s leading superapp and the largest online delivery platform, ride-hailing platform and digital wallet payments platform in Southeast Asia, according to Euromonitor. Grab is backed by SoftBank Vision Fund (21.7% stake), <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/uber-technologies-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:430:1" rel="noopener">Uber (UBER US)</a> (16.6%), <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/didi-chuxing-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27467:1" rel="noopener">DiDi Chuxing (1284375D CH)</a> (8.7%) and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/toyota-motor-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:73:1" rel="noopener">Toyota Motor (7203 JP)</a> (6.9%). </p><p>Grab intends to go public in the US through a SPAC merger with <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/altimeter-growth-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:33007:1" rel="noopener">Altimeter Growth Corp (AGC US)</a>. The deal proceeds include more than $4.0 billion of fully committed PIPE led by $750 million from Altimeter Capital Management. Investors in the PIPE include BlackRock, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Fidelity International, FMR, Janus Henderson Investors, Mubadala, Nuveen, Permodalan Nasional Berhad and Temasek. Altimeter will commit to a three-year lock-up period for its sponsor promote shares. </p><p>The deal values Grab at a post-money market cap of $39.6 billion and post-money EV of $31.3 billion. The deal implies 9.6x 2022 EV/Sales based on Grab’s forecasted adjusted net revenue. Post-close of the transaction, the existing Grab shareholders will represent 87.7% of outstanding shares. </p><div class="content-highlight"><p>Over the years, Grab has transformed into a superapp that encompasses transactions related to transportation, eating, shopping, and digital payments. The transactions are high-frequency which tend to increase user stickiness. By spanning several categories, Grab has many opportunities to capture a user’s wallet spend. Grab is using its superapp status to deliver high-growth with declining loss margin and cash burn. While certain management forecasts seem bullish, the overall forecasts are not outlandish. We will look at Grab’s valuation in our next note.</p></div>

Grab (0967655D SP) is Southeast Asia’s leading superapp and the largest online delivery platform, ride-hailing platform and digital wallet payments platform in Southeast Asia, according to Euromonitor. Grab is backed by SoftBank Vision Fund (21.7% stake), Uber (UBER US) (16.6%), DiDi Chuxing (1284375D CH) (8.7%) and Toyota Motor (7203 JP) (6.9%). Grab intends to go public in the US through a SPAC merger with Altimeter Growth Corp (AGC US). The deal proceeds include more than $4.0 billion of fully committed PIPE led by $750 million from Altimeter Capital Management. Investors in the PIPE include BlackRock, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Fidelity International, FMR, Janus Henderson Investors, Mubadala, Nuveen, Permodalan Nasional Berhad and Temasek. Altimeter will commit to a three-year lock-up period for its sponsor promote shares. The deal values Grab at a post-money market cap of $39.6 billion and post-money EV of $31.3 billion. The deal implies 9.6x 2022 EV/Sales based on Grab’s forecasted adjusted net revenue. Post-close of the transaction, the existing Grab shareholders will represent 87.7% of outstanding shares. Over the years, Grab has transformed into a superapp that encompasses transactions related to transportation, eating, shopping, and digital payments. The transactions are high-frequency which tend to increase user stickiness. By spanning several categories, Grab has many opportunities to capture a user’s wallet spend. Grab is using its superapp status to deliver high-growth with declining loss margin and cash burn. While certain management forecasts seem bullish, the overall forecasts are not outlandish. We will look at Grab’s valuation in our next note.

Financials & FinTech research, Galliano’s Financials Research

Victor Galliano

Financials & FinTech research

Financials & FinTech, EM & Developed Markets

Galliano’s Financials Research

Galliano's Financials Research provides fundamental research in Emerging Markets financials, including FinTech, as well as financials in select Developed Markets.

The investment style applied is generally value oriented, although Growth At Reasonable Price (GARP) strategies can also be used where appropriate. 

Our investment research approach aim is often contrarian, looking to capitalise on overly sceptical or optimistic consensus views. In terms of valuation techniques, the focus is on PBV ratio to ROE, PE multiples and dividend yield, as well as the application of PEG ratios and, where appropriate, Sum of the Parts (SOTP) valuations.

Equity Bottom-Up

Alibaba Group Holding  / Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>SAMR’s RMB18.2bn fine for abuse of market dominance could potentially be seen as a watershed marking that the worst of regulatory risk is past</li>
<li>In terms of Alibaba’s relative share performance, since the start of November 2020, it has clearly underperformed Tencent as well as Meituan and Pinduoduo</li>
<li>Relative to these peers, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/alibaba-group-holding-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:787:1" rel="noopener">Alibaba Group (BABA US)</a> trades at a discount on the core valuation metrics; versus its closest competitor <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> , Alibaba trades at a 28% discount to 2022E PE multiple and at a 21% discount to 2022E EV/EBITDA ratio</li>
<li>Nonetheless, in terms of long term growth potential, Alibaba’s PEG ratio discount of 5% to Tencent is low</li>
<li>In our view, Alibaba’s outlook, especially relating to regulatory risks, remain unclear, especially with regard to the future of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ant-group-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24240:1" rel="noopener">Ant Financial Services Group (6688 HK)</a>, its value and its potential IPO</li>
<li>Risks to our bearish view on Alibaba include a better than expected performance versus its core competitors and a fast resolution to regulatory risks with SAMR</li>
</ul>


SAMR’s RMB18.2bn fine for abuse of market dominance could potentially be seen as a watershed marking that the worst of regulatory risk is past
In terms of Alibaba’s relative share performance, since the start of November 2020, it has clearly underperformed Tencent as well as Meituan and Pinduoduo
Relative to these peers, Alibaba Group (BABA US) trades at a discount on the core valuation metrics; versus its closest competitor Tencent Holdings (700 HK) , Alibaba trades at a 28% discount to 2022E PE multiple and at a 21% discount to 2022E EV/EBITDA ratio
Nonetheless, in terms of long term growth potential, Alibaba’s PEG ratio discount of 5% to Tencent is low
In our view, Alibaba’s outlook, especially relating to regulatory risks, remain unclear, especially with regard to the future of Ant Financial Services Group (6688 HK), its value and its potential IPO
Risks to our bearish view on Alibaba include a better than expected performance versus its core competitors and a fast resolution to regulatory risks with SAMR


Alibaba (BABA) Fine – Close, but No Cigar

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>For the week from 22-26 March, Hong Kong saw shorts rise on <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>, <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/yihai-int-l-holding-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22803:1" rel="noopener">Yihai Int’L Holding (1579 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/beijing-kuaishou-technology-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:29725:1" rel="noopener">Kuaishou Technology (1024 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/lenovo-group-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13359:1" rel="noopener">Lenovo (992 HK)</a> while there was short covering 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/sino-biopharmaceutical" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:230:1" rel="noopener">Sino Biopharmaceutical (1177 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/haier-smart-home-co-ltd-b3ef445f-0f54-4586-8c58-9073de98d60e" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:31105:1" rel="noopener">Haier Smart Home Co Ltd (6690 HK)</a>, <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> 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>. Shorts increased in the Communication Services, Financials, Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary sectors.</p></div><div><p>In Japan, stocks that saw the most shorts were <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>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/base-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28353:1" rel="noopener">BASE Inc (4477 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>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/aeon-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:3:1" rel="noopener">Aeon Co Ltd (8267 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/peptidream-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13514:1" rel="noopener">Peptidream Inc (4587 JP)</a> while shorts decreased on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/takeda-pharmaceutical-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11747:1" rel="noopener">Takeda Pharmaceutical (4502 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/monex-group-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:14211:1" rel="noopener">Monex Group Inc (8698 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/pan-pacific-international-holdings-corporation" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13475:1" rel="noopener">Pan Pacific International Holdings (7532 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/nexon-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:16032:1" rel="noopener">Nexon (3659 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/mizuho-financial-group-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:219:1" rel="noopener">Mizuho Financial Group (8411 JP)</a>. Shorts increased in the Industrials sectors, and decreased in the Financials, Communication Services and Health Care sectors.</p></div><div><p>In Korea, shorts decreased on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/celltrion-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:991:1" rel="noopener">Celltrion Inc (068270 KS)</a>, <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/sk-hynix-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:16955:1" rel="noopener">SK Hynix (000660 KS)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hyundai-motor-co" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:155:1" rel="noopener">Hyundai Motor Co (005380 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/largan-precision-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9126:1" rel="noopener">Largan Precision (3008 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/pegatron-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12852:1" rel="noopener">Pegatron Corp (4938 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/yageo-corporation" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13212:1" rel="noopener">Yageo Corporation (2327 TT)</a> 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> while shorts were covered on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/unimicron-technology-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18778:1" rel="noopener">Unimicron Technology (3037 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/elite-semiconductor-memory" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9373:1" rel="noopener">Elite Semiconductor Memory (3006 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/au-optronics-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6704:1" rel="noopener">AU Optronics (2409 TT)</a> and <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>. </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.For the week from 22-26 March, Hong Kong saw shorts rise on Baidu (9888 HK), Tencent Holdings (700 HK), Yihai Int’L Holding (1579 HK), Kuaishou Technology (1024 HK) and Lenovo (992 HK) while there was short covering on Meituan (3690 HK), Sino Biopharmaceutical (1177 HK), Haier Smart Home Co Ltd (6690 HK), JD.com Inc. (9618 HK) and China Literature (772 HK). Shorts increased in the Communication Services, Financials, Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary sectors.In Japan, stocks that saw the most shorts were Yaskawa Electric (6506 JP), BASE Inc (4477 JP), Toshiba Corp (6502 JP), Aeon Co Ltd (8267 JP) and Peptidream Inc (4587 JP) while shorts decreased on Takeda Pharmaceutical (4502 JP), Monex Group Inc (8698 JP), Pan Pacific International Holdings (7532 JP), Nexon (3659 JP) and Mizuho Financial Group (8411 JP). Shorts increased in the Industrials sectors, and decreased in the Financials, Communication Services and Health Care sectors.In Korea, shorts decreased on Celltrion Inc (068270 KS), Samsung Biologics Co., (207940 KS), Samsung Electronics (005930 KS), SK Hynix (000660 KS) and Hyundai Motor Co (005380 KS) during the week. Stocks in Taiwan that saw the highest increase in shorts were Largan Precision (3008 TT), Pegatron Corp (4938 TT), Yageo Corporation (2327 TT) and Novatek Microelectronics Corp (3034 TT) while shorts were covered on Unimicron Technology (3037 TT), Elite Semiconductor Memory (3006 TT), AU Optronics (2409 TT) and TSMC (2330 TT). 

Asia Short Interest: Baidu, Kuaishou, Smoore, Yaskawa, BASE, Toshiba, Celltrion, Samsung, Largan

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 class="">
<li>Meituan has spent much on Meituan Select’s customer accumulation.</li>
<li>However, agents began to sell other products to the customer bases.</li>
<li>We believe Meituan will not make money from Meituan Select.</li>
<li>We also believe Meituan Select will not bring customers to other businesses of Meituan's.</li>
</ul>
<p>Our previous coverage on Meituan:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/meituan-3690-hk-q4-community-group-purchase-broke-bottom-line" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:49719" rel="noopener">Meituan (3690 HK): Q4, “Community Group Purchase” Broke Bottom Line</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/meituan-3690-hk-good-news-recovery-continued-in-3q20-bad-news-overvalued" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:45892" rel="noopener">Meituan (3690 HK): Good News, Recovery Continued in 3Q20, Bad News, Overvalued</a></li>
</ul>


Meituan has spent much on Meituan Select’s customer accumulation.
However, agents began to sell other products to the customer bases.
We believe Meituan will not make money from Meituan Select.
We also believe Meituan Select will not bring customers to other businesses of Meituan's.

Our previous coverage on Meituan:

Meituan (3690 HK): Q4, “Community Group Purchase” Broke Bottom Line
Meituan (3690 HK): Good News, Recovery Continued in 3Q20, Bad News, Overvalued


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

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements, Aequitas Research

Sumeet Singh

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements

Equity Capital Markets

<div>
<p>Linklogis, a technology solution provider for supply chain finance in China raised around US$1bn in its Hong Kong IPO. Its early investors include Tencent, GIC and Standard Chartered Bank.</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/linklogis-pre-ipo-the-positives-fast-growing-blockchain-driven-supply-chain-financier" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Linklogis Pre-IPO - The Positives - Fast Growing Blockchain Driven Supply Chain Financier,</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/linklogis-pre-ipo-the-negatives-inconsistent-growth-and-margins-well-funded-competitors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Linklogis Pre-IPO - The Negatives - Inconsistent Growth and Margins, Well Funded Competitors, and</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/linklogis-pre-ipo-earnings-forecast-peer-comparison-and-first-stab-at-valuation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Linklogis Pre-IPO - Earnings Forecast, Peer Comparison and First Stab at Valuation</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/linklogis-pre-ipo-phip-updates-nothing-to-complain-about" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Linklogis Pre-IPO - PHIP Updates - Nothing to Complain About</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/linklogis-ipo-pricey-for-a-reason" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Linklogis IPO - Pricey for a Reason</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<p>In this note, we will talk about deal dynamics and updates since our last note.</p>
</div>


Linklogis, a technology solution provider for supply chain finance in China raised around US$1bn in its Hong Kong IPO. Its early investors include Tencent, GIC and Standard Chartered Bank.


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




Linklogis Pre-IPO - The Positives - Fast Growing Blockchain Driven Supply Chain Financier, 
Linklogis Pre-IPO - The Negatives - Inconsistent Growth and Margins, Well Funded Competitors, and
Linklogis Pre-IPO - Earnings Forecast, Peer Comparison and First Stab at Valuation
Linklogis Pre-IPO - PHIP Updates - Nothing to Complain About
Linklogis IPO - Pricey for a Reason



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


Linklogis IPO Trading - Decent but Not Hot Demand

China

Meituan operates as a web based shopping platform for locally found consumer products and retail services. The Company offers deals of the day by selling vouchers on local services and entertainment, dining, delivery, and other services. Meituan provides its services throughout China.

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Meituan (3690 HK)

Grab SPAC Deal: Delivering the Goods

Grab has announced a SPAC merger with Altimeter Growth Corp which values Grab at a post-money market cap of $39.6 bn. We think that Grab has strong...

Arun George

Alibaba (BABA) Fine – Close, but No Cigar

SAMR's fine on Alibaba is a positive step in the process of resolving regulatory risk, but we are not there yet, in our view; unresolved issues...

Victor Galliano

Asia Short Interest: Baidu, Kuaishou, Smoore, Yaskawa, BASE, Toshiba, Celltrion, Samsung, Largan

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

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

We believe Meituan will not make money from Meituan Select.We also believe Meituan Select will not bring customers to other businesses of Meituan's.

Ming Lu

Linklogis IPO Trading - Decent but Not Hot Demand

Linklogis, a technology solution provider for supply chain finance in China raised around US$1bn in its Hong Kong IPO. Its early investors include...

Sumeet Singh

Price Gauge

52-week Range

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