Daily Brief China: China Resources Beverage, China Merchants China Direct Investments, Laopu Gold, Sun Art Retail, China Conch Venture Holdings, CanSino Biologics , Medco Energi and more

• China Resources Beverage (2460 HK) raised around US$750m in its Hong Kong IPO, after pricing at the top-end.
• China Resources Beverage manufactures and sells packaged drinking water and RTD soft beverages in China.
• We have looked at the company’s past performance and valuations in our previous notes. In this note, we will talk about the trading dynamics.

• On the 27th September, China Merchants China Direct Investments (133 HK) (CMCDI) teased a share buyback and a special dividend. But as of today. no firm details have been forthcoming. 
• CMCDI has also now offered to reduce management fees by 25 basis points in the new management agreement, which will be voted on  by independent shareholders in November/December.
• This concession does not go far enough. Especially when 45% of the management fees are received by founder Victor Chu. 

• China Resources Beverage (2460 HK) priced its IPO at HK$14.50 per share to raise the gross proceeds of US$649 million. The shares will start trading on 23 October.
• The IPO was discussed in CR Beverage IPO: The Bull Case, CR Beverage IPO: The Bear Case, CR Beverage IPO: The Investment Case, CR Beverage (2460 HK) IPO: Valuation Insights. 
• The market sentiment of the peers has remained unchanged since the IPO launch. CR Beverage is fairly valued at the IPO price.

• Laopu Gold (6181 HK) is expected to fail the fcap threshold at the December 2024 review due to low free float unless its price surges ~22% in the next week.
• The 6-month lock-up expiry will lift the fcap closely above the threshold significantly increasing the probability of inclusion at the March 2025 review.
• If the mcap qualifies for the small-cap segment, its inclusion is possible at the November 2024 review due to lower fcap requirements. 

• Hong Kong markets continue to outperform globally this year with short selling declining and mainland buying increasing.  These trends should accelerate going into next year.
• Sun Art Retail (6808 HK)resumed trading after announcing that the company is entertaining one or more potential acquisition plans for the company.  The company also announced strong 1H25 earnings.
• Shanghai Electric Group Company (2727 HK) announce a buyback plan for 10% of A and H shares outstanding.  The company also announced the acquisition of the China Fanuc robotics business.

• China Conch Venture Holdings (586 HK) is sitting on a steep discount of 59% to its NAV. Its holding in Anhui Conch Cement (600585 CH) is already valued at HK$13.3/share.
• Its waste-to-energy business has a value of Rmb4.4bn by assuming 5x PER, but this business has a net book value of Rmb10bn. Pipeline capacity equals 21.7% of operational capacity.
• The new energy segment, including lithium battery recycling and the manufacture of positive and negative electrode materials, has solid prospects but is overlooked by the market.

• CanSino’s performance picked up in 24Q2. CDMO revenue is a surprise, which would become the second growth curve. Effective cost control and increased demand for meningococcal vaccines narrowed net losses. 
• The short-term highlight in business progress is PCV13i, whose approval process is faster-than-expected. This means CanSino’s revenue in 2025 may exceed expectations. Controlling shareholders and management have increased their holdings.
• CanSino’s revenue is expected to reach RMB750 million in 2024. If revenue this year reaches RMB800 million or above, it’s beyond expectations. Reasonable market value is at least RMB5-10 billion.

Lucror Analytics Morning Views comprise our fundamental credit analysis, opinions and trade recommendations on high yield issuers in the region, based on key company-specific developments in the past 24 hours. Our Morning Views include a section with a brief market commentary, key market indicators and a macroeconomic and corporate event calendar.

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