Bamboo Works Weekly: Fosun Tourism travels back to home base with delisting plan
This week in Bamboo Works:
Fosun Tourism Group 1992.HK
Fosun Tourism travels back to home base with delisting plan
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. BABA.US 9988.HK
Alibaba’s breakup in tatters, could 2025 be the year of asset shedding?
Meitu Inc. 1357.HK
Its bitcoin bet behind it, can Meitu find sustained profits in its beauty business?
JD Logistics Inc. 2618.HK
JD Logistics buys out partner in its race to time-sensitive deliveries
Guming Holdings Ltd.
Guming IPO returns to front burner with new listing application
PDD Holdings Inc. PDD.US
Beaten down PDD ends 2024 with Southeast Asian setbacks
Shanghai Zhida Technology Development Co. Ltd.
Zhida looks for IPO charge as EV distress drains its coffers
Waterdrop Inc. WDH.US
In weak insurance market, Waterdrop finds solace in benevolence crowdfunding
Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. 600276.SH
Hengrui Pharma accelerates bid for global brand status
Chongqing Hongjiu Fruit Co. Ltd. 6689.HK
Did falling durian prices undermine an already-shaky Hongjiu Fruit?
GM’s China Charge, and Nvidia’s Antitrust Probe
In a world where market dynamics often shift faster than companies can adapt, General Motors (GM) is facing a stark reminder of the complexities involved in navigating China’s volatile landscape. Once hailed as a beacon of growth, GM’s fortunes in China have taken a sharp downturn, exemplified by a recent $2.8 billion non-cash charge related to its joint venture with SAIC, one of China’s largest automakers.
Beyond the automotive sector, another major player facing turbulent times in China is Nvidia, which has recently been caught in an antitrust probe.
Fosun Tourism travels back to home base with delisting plan
Latest close: 7.40(0.00%) ; 52-week range: 3.04-7.45
After six years as a public company, the Chinese operator of the Club Med chain and other upscale resorts is bidding farewell to the stock market and embarking on a new journey within the Fosun conglomerate.
Fosun Tourism Group (1992.HK) recently announced that its parent company planned to buy back shares in the travel and leisure firm at nearly double the market price for about HK$2.12 billion, sending the stock soaring on the news.
Alibaba’s breakup in tatters, could 2025 be the year of asset shedding?
Latest close: 82.28(-2.41%) ; 52-week range: 66.63-117.82
Its name derives from the tale of a poor woodcutter in ancient Persia who finds riches in a hidden cave. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA.US; 9988.HK) seemed to follow that basic storyline for most of its life, rising from obscurity to become China’s leading e-commerce company as Chinese consumers embraced online buying.
But the last two years have been difficult ones for the company, which has become caught up in what looks like a period of indecision on how to regain its former glory.
Its bitcoin bet behind it, can Meitu find sustained profits in its beauty business?
Latest close: 3.09(-4.33%) ; 52-week range: 2.07-3.81
Bitcoin has been on a tear since Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election, on hopes that he would help to take the cryptocurrency mainstream. But just as it was surging to the $100,000 mark, Meitu Inc. (1357.HK) announced that it had sold off all of its cryptocurrency holdings, ridding itself of a longtime asset even as everyone else was piling in.
Was the unusually timed sale a case of Warren Buffet’s well-known axiom calling on investors to “be greedy when others are fearful, and be fearful only when others are greedy”? Or was it something else?
JD Logistics buys out partner in its race to time-sensitive deliveries
Latest close: 13.42(-3.03%) ; 52-week range: 6.61-16.84
JD Logistics Inc. (2618.HK) is taking the differentiation game further by trying to offer the widest range of “integrated supply chain services” that appeal to customers with many differing needs.
In the latest step in that direction, the company this month announced an agreement to buy the remaining 36.43% of Kuayue-Express that it doesn’t already own for up to 6.48 billion yuan ($894 million), making Kuayue-Express into a wholly owned subsidiary.
Guming IPO returns to front burner with new listing application
Just a week after we predicted that China was lifting its ban on new bubble tea IPOs, it’s official. That’s the key takeaway from Guming Holdings Ltd.’s filing of an updated listing document with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, just a week after the Chinese securities regulator signaled the listing could proceed after a nearly yearlong delay.
The latest filing from Guming, which uses the English name “Good me” on its thousands of tea shops around China, contains a year of fresh financial data from the company since its last filing in January.
Beaten down PDD ends 2024 with Southeast Asian setbacks
Latest close: 99.51(-1.48%) ; 52-week range: 88.01-164.69
Chinese goods are famous for their relatively solid value at low costs – a reputation that turbocharged the rise of some e-commerce platforms during the pandemic.
But now one of the highest flyers in that group, PDD Holdings Inc. (PDD.US), is coming back to earth as a growing number of foreign governments say “no” to its ultra bargain-basement goods.
Zhida looks for IPO charge as EV distress drains its coffers
Signs of industries in distress can often be found in their supply chains, which certainly seems to be the case with Shanghai Zhida Technology Development Co. Ltd.
The maker of home-based electric vehicle (EV) chargers filed for a Hong Kong IPO, submitting a listing document filled with troubling signals that reflect the difficulties China’s EV sector is facing.
In weak insurance market, Waterdrop finds solace in benevolence crowdfunding
Latest close: 1.08(-4.85%) ; 52-week range: 0.94-1.53
Benevolence certainly makes the world a better place. For online insurance broker Waterdrop Inc. (WDH.US), it’s also translating into a thriving business that can reignite growth in the face of sluggishness in its core insurance business.
The company’s latest quarterly results showed that ongoing shift in its business mix, underscoring difficulties insurance brokers in general are having amid combined headwinds from China’s economic slowdown and regulatory curveballs that have become a key source of uncertainty for the financial sector.
Hengrui Pharma accelerates bid for global brand status
Latest close: 46.25(-0.62%) ; 52-week range: 35.51-57.53
It has been an open secret for nearly two months that a top Chinese drugmaker was planning to raise fresh capital to boost its international profile.
Now Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. (600276.SH) has confirmed the rumored plan to list its shares on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, adding to its presence on the mainland equity market.
Did falling durian prices undermine an already-shaky Hongjiu Fruit?
It’s known for its stinky smell that repels many but has gained it a huge following from fruit lovers in China. But the durian fruit may be having an equally repulsive financial effect for Chongqing Hongjiu Fruit Co. Ltd. (6689.HK), a former highflying fruit seller whose shares have been suspended since March.
Some of the earliest public warning signs from the company, which likes to call itself China’s “number one fruit stock,” came with the abrupt resignation of its auditor, KPMG, in April. Not long after that, Hongjiu announced a delay in the release of its 2023 annual results.