1368.HK - sportswear company, XTEP (1368.HK), expects profit growth of >35% for 1H 2022 (76% profit growth in 2021) - probably in-line with expectations. Obviously, recent COVID-19 headwinds have hurt sales and profitability. Q2 2022 retail sales through growth (offline/online) of 'mid-teens' is still impressive considering the COVID-19 lockdowns. Discounting and inventory turnover months did tick up in Q2 2022. XTEP continues to outperform its peers ANTA (2020.HK) and Li-Ning (2331.HK). Earlier this week, ANTA guided to YoY declines for retail sales of some of their flagship brands (ANTA , FILA).
MNSO/9896.HK - boring debut in HK under ticker 9896.HK last night. IPO was only 1.4x oversubscribed. MNSO has fallen 25% since I took it off my Best Long list a few weeks ago - if it keeps declining, it may look interesting again. A resurgence in COVID-19 cases has made investors skittish.
1024.HK - According to data released by Kuaishou, since June 2022, the Kuaishou platform has dealt with more than 5,700 such illegal accounts, involving more than 7,800 illegal live broadcasts. Whether regulation-influenced or not, Kuaishou and its short video peer, Douyin, has been cleaning up their content.
Striking balance on COVID-19 rules - Chinese local governments are redressing some local policies, which were deemed as being too strict or discriminatory against recovered COVID-19 patients, after the central government urged local governments to rectify such regulations amid continued efforts to balance epidemic control and maintain normal life. For the regulations that restrict unvaccinated people or those who were formerly infected with COVID-19 from entering certain venues, various regions have made corrections. It is all about striking a balance - I do not think we will return to the harshest lockdowns again.
