HK/China Equity Long-Short

Osbert Tang, CFA

Osbert Tang is an equity analyst with over 20 years of experience with focuses on China transport, infrastructure, industrials and utilities sectors. He has been based in Shanghai since 2003, accumulated nearly 20 years of on-ground knowledge on the Chinese economy and financial markets, and has a wealth of contacts with China corporates and government entities. 

Osbert has received votes from top-tier institutional investors and has been a highly-ranked transport and infrastructure analyst in the Asiamoney, Institutional Investors and Greenwich surveys. In addition to his extensive experience with international investment banks including RBS, ABN AMRO (both served as Shanghai Chief Representative), Paribas Asia Equity, Maybank Kim Eng and DBS Securities, he has been a senior analyst with Moody’s Investors Service with focus on ratings of China infrastructure and related LGFV issuers. He has also worked in the area of strategic development at Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited. 

Osbert holds a BBA from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin and a MSSc in Applied Psychology from the City University of Hong Kong. He was accredited with the CFA charter in 1997, and is a member of both British Psychological Society and Hong Kong Psychological Society.

China Southern Airlines (1055 HK): A Tough Start

Cathay Pacific (293 HK): Multiple Positive Developments

Air China (753 HK): Steering Back to the Right Lane

China Pair Trade Idea: Long Air China (753 HK), Short CSA (1055 HK)

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

China Transportation / Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>All three Chinese airlines trimmed their losses in 1H24, suggesting a pick-up in sector fundamentals. However, their 2Q24 bottom line displayed different trends.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/air-china-ltd-h" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8239:1" rel="noopener">Air China Ltd (H) (753 HK)</a> is performing the best, with QoQ improvement in both reported and recurring losses (reduction by 41.7% and 7.4%, respectively).</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-southern-airlines-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1078:1" rel="noopener">China Southern Airlines (1055 HK)</a>, however, dipped back into red in 2Q24 after making a profit in 1Q24. With Air China underperforming YTD, there is room to revenge in 2H24.</li>
</ul>


All three Chinese airlines trimmed their losses in 1H24, suggesting a pick-up in sector fundamentals. However, their 2Q24 bottom line displayed different trends.

Air China Ltd (H) (753 HK) is performing the best, with QoQ improvement in both reported and recurring losses (reduction by 41.7% and 7.4%, respectively).

China Southern Airlines (1055 HK), however, dipped back into red in 2Q24 after making a profit in 1Q24. With Air China underperforming YTD, there is room to revenge in 2H24.


Chinese Airlines: Diverging Performance