Key takeaways: 1、Everest will pay up to $150 million or more to potentially bring an mRNA vaccine being developed by Canada’s Providence Therapeutics to China 2、Deal comes as Beijing appears increasingly receptive to mRNA vaccines, even though Providence’s jabs have yet to be approved in its home Canada market By Richard Barbarossa China may still be without a Covid-19 vaccine based on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, generally considered the most effective for preventing infections. But many are racing to bring such vaccines to the country, even as the latest official data shows 1 billion Chinese have now been vaccinated using several homegrown shots based on older technologies. That crowd gained another member last week when cancer and autoimmune disorder drug startup Everest Medici

Key takeaways: 1、111’s revenue grew 87% in second quarter, generally outpacing its peers, as it aims to more than double its fulfillment capacity this year 2、Company’s shares now trade around $6.50, well off a $23 high reached in February, as investors worry about regulatory wave for broader tech sector By Mia Shanley With massive revenue growth and market share gains in the bag, online drug seller 111 Inc. (YI.US) has a new focus: earning a profit. The company was talking up that potential in its latest quarterly results, and followed that with a modest share buyback last week in a bid to excite skeptical investors. Founded in 2010, 111 now boasts one of the biggest networks selling to online and brick-and-mortar pharmacies in China, and also operates its own online retail

Key Takeaways: 1、 Waterdrop posted healthy gains in revenue and paying customers in the second quarter, but swung back to an operating loss as sales and marketing costs soared 2、 Company’s shares are down more than 75% since their April IPO due to a combination of widening losses and regulatory concerns By Thomas Zhang Nobody wants to see their investment evaporate more than 75% in just four short months. But unlucky investors in online insurance broker Waterdrop Inc. (NYSE: WDH) are now finding themselves in just such a situation, as the company’s recently listed stock plumbed new all-time lows in the days after it announced its latest quarterly results. The results were a mixed bag that’s typical for such young companies, including strong user and revenue growth and a big

Key points: 1、Tuya’s shares have rallied 25% in the nine trading days since it announced a share buyback, but are still well below their levels prior to a recent unexplained selloff 2、Company posted triple-digit revenue growth in the second quarter, banking on its leading position as operator of a platform for internet of things (IoT) developers By Doug Young There’s nothing like a good share buyback to rescue your stock in times of unexplained turbulence. That appears to be the message, at least in the short-term, from a $200 million share buyback program announced Aug. 30 by Tuya Inc., which is one of the world’s biggest platform as a service (PaaS) company for internet of things (IoT) developers and product makers. After announcing the buyback, the stock reversed its prev

Key Takeways: 1、Yuzhou Group has breached one of China’s “three red lines” for real estate builders, which will limit its annual debt growth to 10% 2、The borrowing constraint will make it more difficult for the company to refinance maturing debt and develop new projects By Warren Yang For smaller Chinese property developer Yuzhou Group Holdings Co. Ltd. (1628.HK), bulking up its business while trying to slim down debt seems like a difficult task. That’s been problematic for its shareholders, who have been dumping stock for Yuzhou and many of its peers this year. Yuzhou, which was founded in 1994, is among many Chinese real estate developers that expanded massively over the last two decades by issuing debt, a strategy approved by Beijing leaders eager to develop the nation’s prope

Key takeaways: 1、So-Young International devotes much of its second-quarter results trying to ease investor concerns over a potential crackdown on China’s cosmetic surgery industry 2、Company’s revenue rises 37% and profit jumps sharply in latest quarter as business rebounds from year-ago pandemic-induced slowdown By Doug Young The superficial story in the latest results for plastic surgery platform operator So-Young International Inc. (SY.US) was strong growth for top-line revenue and even stronger gains for bottom-line profits in the three months through June. But the much-bigger story was one that has dogged many of China’s fastest-growing emerging sectors since the middle of the year, namely the prospect of a looming regulatory crackdown. The broader series of crackdowns actual

Key Takeaways: 1、Viva Biotech’s fivefold jump in first-half revenues and move back to profitability come on the back of its acquisition last year of two contract drug makers 2、Company’s shift to contract drug making comes as global pharma firms shift focus to drug development By Richard Barbarossa A couple of recent acquisitions are proving strong tonic for Viva Biotech Holdings (1873.HK), a globally-focused Chinese provider of third-party pharmaceutical services for other drug makers. The company posted a more than fivefold surge in first-half revenues after completing two key purchases that not only added a major new business area but also lifted Viva Biotech back to profitability, according to its latest results posted last week. The company’s shares initially jumped

Key takeaways: •      Youdao’s revenue more than doubled in the second quarter from a year earlier, with all business segments performing strongly •      The results came as China cracks down on after-school tutoring services that account for less than half of Youdao’s revenue By Warren Yang Online tutoring services provider Youdao Inc. (DAO.US) is offering a real-life lesson on the virtues of diversification, as many of its peers fall victim to China’s crackdown on extracurricular education for young students. Net revenue at the company, a unit of online gaming giant NetEase, more than doubled to 1.3 billion yuan ($200 million) in the second quarter of 2021 from a year earlier, according to its latest results relea

Key points: 1、Online grocer Dingdong boosted its edge over older rival Missfresh by posting sharply stronger revenue growth in the second quarter 2、The two companies could be well positioned to avoid a recent wave of regulatory scrutiny due to their relatively small size By Mia Shanley In the fierce battle for Chinese grocery shoppers who are rapidly moving online to buy everything from live seafood to fresh flowers, Shanghai-based Dingdong Macai (DDL.US) appears to be edging out its older rival Missfresh (MF.US), based on their maiden quarterly earnings published over the past week. Investors seem increasingly aware of that reality, with Dingdong’s stock faring far better than Missfresh’s since the pair made nearly simultaneous New York IPOs in June. The 4-year-old Din

Key takeaways: 1、Kanzhun has posted its first-ever quarterly profit, fueled by a 174% jump in revenue 2、Company warns that a cybersecurity review and concurrent freeze on new user signups is affecting its business, and could last through at least the end of September The maiden quarterly earnings report from leading online jobs specialist Kanzhun Ltd. (BZ.US), best known in China for its Boss Zhipin service, contains both good news and bad news. If you’re a “glass-half-full” type of person, you’re probably focused on the good news that showed the 7-year-old company passed a significant milestone in this year’s second-quarter by posting its first-ever profit. But if you’re a “glass-half-empty” type, you probably focused on an ongoing cybersecurity review that has forced the compan

Key takeaways: 1、New Horizon’s first-half revenues jumped more than fourfold, assisted by government early cancer testing drive 2、Stock volatility could owe to frothy valuation, as well as unclear timeline for profitability By Richard Barbaroza New Horizon Health Ltd. (6606.HK), a Chinese maker of self-administered tests for colorectal cancer, has reported a more than fourfold increase in revenue in the first half of 2021, buoyed by the government’s recent campaign for early diagnosis of the disease. The company, which was founded in 2015, has seized on its first-mover advantage with two self-administered tests that are the only ones of their kind in China. But despite its surging sales, New Horizon’s shares have tumbled since June after an initial surge following their Febr

Key Points: 1、Cango has improved its overall performance with a timely shift toward auto trading to complement its struggling auto financing business 2、Company blames regulatory challenges at home and global chip shortage for stalling revenue growth By Eric Auchard China’s race to create a successful car trading and financing platform blending online and offline services has become a game of business-model bumper cars, and an auto graveyard for some. The result has been intense competition that has crushed profits for many, and also stock prices. Cango Inc. (CANG.US) has emerged as one of the more disciplined players in the field, aiming to become a one-stop trading shop for wholesalers, car dealers and new and used retail car buyers in its latest rendition, following its founding mor

Key points: 1、Asset manager Noah Holdings’ second quarter revenue grew 20%, but margins got squeezed by faster-growing operating expenses 2、High expenses came from recruitment of new wealth management staff as company shifts focus to affluent Chinese customers By Warren Yang For a refocused Noah Holdings Ltd. (NOAH.US) banking on Chinese millionaires as its main customers, growth is proving costly. The company, one of the oldest private asset managers in China, reported 899.4 million yuan ($139.3 million) in second-quarter revenue, up 20.3% from a year earlier, according to its latest financial report released last week. That’s not bad for a company worth more than $2 billion. Yet its quarterly net income increased just 2% to 305.5 million yuan year-on-year, while earni

Key points: 1、Beijing has become the first major city requiring all after-school education companies to become non-profits, according to announcements from the companies 2、Companies are unlikely to be shut down, but may have to sell core assets and look for new businesses to take advantage of their core skills and technologies  By Doug Young China’s bustling crowd of after-school tutoring providers are increasingly looking like field of “zombie companies.” That’s one key takeaway from a look at these companies’ stocks, which have essentially flatlined since July 26 – the day specific measures to rein in the group were first announced. Normally flatlining would be considered a bad thing, as it signals the death of whoever is involved. But in this case the flatlining might actually be c

Key points: 1、AiHuiShou posts 56% revenue growth in its latest reporting quarter while continuing to operate in the red 2、Company simultaneously released first ESG report highlighting its role in helping China to achieve its carbon-reduction goals By Doug Young Sometimes your best asset isn’t in your financial statements. That seems to be the message coming from electronics recycling specialist AiHuiShou International Co. Ltd. (RERE.US), which has just conveniently released its first report on environment, social and governance, better known as ESG, alongside its maiden quarterly earnings. For those people out of the loop, ESG reports have become all the rage these days as companies try to show they are responsible corporate citizens and not just profit-making mach

Key takeaways: 1、Cloopen’s revenue grew 48% in the second quarter, and it forecast similar gains in the third quarter, as it chases share in China’s lucrative cloud services market 2、Despite strongly rising revenues and more large enterprise customers, the company’s shares are still hovering near all-time lows By Mia Shanley It’s the Chinese cloud stock that just refuses to take flight. That’s despite another robust quarter of growth for cloud-based services firm Cloopen Group Holding Ltd. (RAAS.US), which has a strong foothold in the world’s fastest-growing cloud services market. Cloopen shares initially soared 24% following the Aug. 11 release of its second-quarter results, as it reported healthy revenue growth while still losing money. But the stock quickly pulled back in

Key Takeaways: 1、Fintech loan facilitator 360 DigiTech says its main app was restored to Chinese app stores after its earlier removal for data collection violations 2、Company’s stock initially rallied after news, but failed to recover to pre-crisis levels and later gave back all the gains amid a flood of shareholder lawsuits By Thomas Zhang Investors in Chinese fintech companies have had a few rollercoaster months lately as China ramps up its regulation of the formerly freewheeling sector. Policies, rather than fundamentals, are exerting an increasing influence over stocks, especially when actions are taken against individual companies. Consumer lender 360 DigiTech Inc. (QFIN.US) got caught up in the storm last month when its flagship app, 360 Jietiao, was removed from Chinese ap

Key points: 1、Canaan Inc.’s recent series of deals from two major international customers could be worth around $200 million in 2021 and 2022 2、Company is trying to highlight its growing global customer base as China shutters most domestic crypto mining in recent crackdown By Doug Young Despite being based in China, we’re really quite international. That’s the message bitcoin mining machine maker Canaan Inc. (CAN.US) is trying to tell the world with a recent series of announcements on new orders for thousands of machines from two major customers outside its home China market. That’s quite important for companies like Canaan these days as China bans crypto mining operations within its borders. Canaan announced its latest major sale to an offshore buyer at the end of last

Key points: 1、Miniso is moving into sales using vending machines and product lines based on third party-licensed IP 2、Company’s stock is highly valued compared with traditional retailers, but its PE is just half that of domestic collectible toy rival Pop Mart By Doug Young It started out as a miniature, low-cost knockoff of trendy Japanese retailer Muji, known for its brightly lit stores featuring a wide array of daily household items. But Miniso Group Holding Ltd. (MNSO.US) is moving further from those roots with its increasing focus on collectible and branded products, as it also eyes vending machines that carry far lower costs than traditional shops. Those are the main messages coming from the company’s latest announcements, which include the launch of its first vending machin

Key points: 1、TuSimple’s recent hiring spree and growing stable of major trucking partners show its autonomous driving technology is moving closer to commercialization$TuSimple Holdings Inc.(TSP)$ 2、Company’s highlighting of U.S. developments and muted discussion on China show it is rapidly moving its focus to the U.S. By Doug Young On the surface at least, autonomous truck driving specialist TuSimple Holdings Inc’.s (TSP.US) latest earnings report looks a lot like its name: quite simple. That view would say the report shows a company based in the U.S. and China that is rapidly ramping up its self-driving truck technology as it eyes a lucrative commercial rollout in the not-too-distant future. But given the company’