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In this briefing:
- Petrochina Breakout and Laggard Play
- Chinese Telcos: Rising 5G Capex Risk Leads to Another Downgrade
- Best World (BEST SP): Not the Best Financials to Disprove The Business Times Allegations
- HLX02: Innovation Could Overtake
- January Headline Data for China
1. Petrochina Breakout and Laggard Play
Petrochina Co Ltd H (857 HK) has remains suppressed but with oil perking up there is a laggard upside play taking shape as we begin to see distribution in HK upside leaders. On weakness we like positioning on the long side and can be used as a pair with an index short or one of the steel counters.
Given stock leaders are showing deteriorating upside momentum, we expect laggards to attract more attention.
RSI and MACD breakout patterns outlined as well as the price breakout at 5.10.
A bigger descending wedge also shows promise as a secondary breakout trigger.
MACD pattern resistance will help define the trending capability post breakout.
2. Chinese Telcos: Rising 5G Capex Risk Leads to Another Downgrade
We recently downgraded the Chinese telcos on rising concerns that the telcos will be required to do “national service” to support China’s technological leadership in 5G. The closure of many overseas markets to Chinese equipment suppliers (esp Huawei, but also Zte Corp H (763 HK)) means the risk of a more aggressive 5G roll-out has increased. Markets have started to take notice but the initial reaction has been positive on excitement over the 5G opportunity. Given the lack of a strong business case for 5G currently, we don think additional capex is a positive. We model what an extreme roll-out could look like and the impact on the telcos. Along with a weakening macro outlook, we have further downgraded target prices for all three operators and cut China Mobile (941 HK) and China Telecom (728 HK) to Reduce and China Unicom (762 HK) to Neutral.
3. Best World (BEST SP): Not the Best Financials to Disprove The Business Times Allegations
Best World International (BEST SP) is a direct-selling company that distributes premium skincare and wellness products. On Monday, The Business Times claimed that it is difficult to verify Best World’s strong sales in China based on “an unimpressive online and offline footprint.” On the back of the Business Times article, Best World shares slid 17% before the company was granted a trading halt pending a clarification announcement.
Checking the accuracy of the Business Times’ facts and figures is beyond the scope of this note. Instead, the aim is to analyse alternative financial metrics to judge if Business Times’ allegations have some substance. Overall, our analysis suggests that Business Times’ claims have some substance and investors should not be so quick to dismiss it.
4. HLX02: Innovation Could Overtake
The oncology treatment landscape in China is evolving rapidly as the government has prioritized access to innovative drugs to meet this significant unmet need. In particular, investors considering the Shanghai Henlius Biotech (1566213D HK) listing should be aware of the emergence of a drug that potentially is superior to Roche Holding AG (ROG SW)‘s Herceptin (and Shanghai Henlius’ HLX02) for the treatment of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer (and ultimately HER2-positive gastric cancer). While there should be good demand for cheaper alternatives to Herceptin, the availability of a superior alternative potentially shortens the lifecycle of Herceptin biosimilars.
China has only recently “modernized” its drug approval and reimbursement, so there is little precedent to rely upon to estimate the speed and magnitude of changes in the market. As brokers rollout forecasts for the company and HLX02, investors should ask if the numbers somehow reflect this risk.
We do not have a view of the offering, but tag this Insight as Bearish because we are highlighting a potential risk.
5. January Headline Data for China
Sometimes at Balding’s World we explore worm holes of Chinese data. Yes, granular data is awesome, but the global economic calendar should not be overlooked nor headline data taken for granted. To that end today we take a look at some key figures to recently emerge.
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