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

2025 High Conviction: Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) – Music as Promising Future

Tencent Music (TME, 1698 HK): 4Q24, Historical Margins Better than Game Time

Tencent Music (TME): All Cheerful Data in Music, To Grow in Q3 After 3 Flat Years

Tencent Music Entertainment Group: Innovation In Subscription & User Experience & Other Major Drivers

TME (TME US) - Focus on Balanced Growth of Music Subs and ARPPU in 2H24E

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.

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>The quarterly gross margin hit historical high again in 3Q24.</li>
<li>As expected, the growth rate exceeded 5% YoY for the first time in three years, as the weak business became insignificant in total revenue.</li>
<li>The P/E band suggests an upside of 124% and a price target of US$26 for the end of 2025. Buy.</li>
</ul>


The quarterly gross margin hit historical high again in 3Q24.
As expected, the growth rate exceeded 5% YoY for the first time in three years, as the weak business became insignificant in total revenue.
The P/E band suggests an upside of 124% and a price target of US$26 for the end of 2025. Buy.


Tencent Music (TME): 3Q24, Began to Grow with Record Gross Margin