Overseas Chinese Equities, Aequitas Research

Ming Lu

A veteran with 19-year experience in equity research.

Geographical coverage:
* Companies operating in China, but listed in Hong Kong and the U.S.
* Previously China A-share (listed in mainland China).

Equity sector coverage:
* Chinese App / Internet-based consumption in China, e.g., Alibaba, Tencent, etc.
* Previously covered education, transportation, telecom, power, bank, advertisement, hotel, etc.

Research methods:
* Generally bottom-up.
* Talk to related people on the ground.  Talk to readers and independent writers for analyzing a news portal.  Talk to parents and teachers for analyzing a tutoring school. 
* Visit stores and show photos as evidence in notes.
* Do technical analysis when finding a short-seller attacking an equity.

Languages:
* English
* Mandarin Chinese (Official language of China)
* Shanghainese (Language of Shanghai, the most developed city in China)
* Cantonese (Language of Hong Kong and Canton Province, one of the most developed provinces in China)

Overseas Chinese Equities

Shangde Qizhi – School Admission in Demand, Higher Growth Rate and Margin

Maple Leaf (1317) – Private Schools Plunged Due to Proposed Law

China Kepei Edu (科培教育) Pre-IPO Review - A Well Run Private Higher Education Company

Maple Leaf (1317 HK) – International School, Well Positioned, But Undervalued

China Maple Leaf Education Placement - First Step to Its Long-Term Growth Strategy

Schools Come and Go, But Parents Stay Anxious – Promising Education Industry in China

TAL Education (TAL US) - Chaos in Junior High School Application in Shanghai

Equity Bottom-Up

China Maple Leaf Educational Systems / Equity Bottom-Up

China Maple Leaf Educational Systems (1317 HK)

<ul class=""><li>Maple Leaf accelerated opening new schools in 1H18 (as of Feb 2018) and we believe Maple Leaf can retain the utilization rate.</li><li>In 1H18, both revenue growth and operating margin reached record high since listing (in 2014).</li><li>Maple Leaf’s stock price has not changed much since our last report, but the peer P/E based upside narrows from 27% to 19%, which suggests Maple Leaf is a good defensive ticker.</li></ul>

Maple Leaf accelerated opening new schools in 1H18 (as of Feb 2018) and we believe Maple Leaf can retain the utilization rate.In 1H18, both revenue growth and operating margin reached record high since listing (in 2014).Maple Leaf’s stock price has not changed much since our last report, but the peer P/E based upside narrows from 27% to 19%, which suggests Maple Leaf is a good defensive ticker.

Maple Leaf (1317 HK) – Achieves Both Aggressive Expansion and Record High Margin