Close menu




February 28th, 2022 | 12:43 CET

Alibaba, Hong Lai Huat, BYD - Asia as a safe haven for investments?

  • RealEstate
  • Electromobility
Photo credits: pixabay.com

The war in Ukraine is causing falling stock indices on both sides. The sanctions against Russia will be extensive; even Nord Stream 2 has been stopped for the time being, although Olaf Scholz did not want to name the pipeline for a long time when it came to possible sanctions. Many countries are calling for Russia to be excluded from the SWIFT system. However, this would mean that many countries would be harming themselves, as energy imports from Russia would no longer be affordable. The war will have losers on both sides. Investors who still want to make their money work for them can take a closer look at companies from the Asian region. China is neutral in the showdown. Which stocks offer opportunities?

time to read: 4 minutes | Author: Armin Schulz
ISIN: ALIBABA GR.HLDG SP.ADR 8 | US01609W1027 , HONG LAI HUAT GROUP LIMITED | SG1EE1000009 , BYD CO. LTD H YC 1 | CNE100000296

Table of contents:


    Uwe Ahrens, Director, Altech Advanced Materials AG
    "[...] We know exactly what we are doing and are implementing what we consider to be a proven technology in an industrially applicable and scalable way. [...]" Uwe Ahrens, Director, Altech Advanced Materials AG

    Full interview

     

    Alibaba - Are the investments paying off?

    Alibaba has been under constant pressure over the past 18 months as the Chinese government has repeatedly imposed new regulations that the Company has had to respond to. China's Amazon suffered from the squeeze because investors were too uncertain about the outlook. The fundamentals were very favorable by industry standards. Even investments by Charlie Munger only helped the stock to brief recoveries. But despite some bad news, the share price has hardly fallen in recent months.

    Even when the Company presented its quarterly figures on February 24 and reported the slowest growth in years, the share hardly reacted. Sales were up just 10% YOY. A year earlier, the figure was still 37%. CEO Daniel Zhang assumes that the Company has penetrated the Chinese market to the maximum and no longer has much growth potential. That means the Company is now focusing on the international markets. There is still a lot of development potential here. The cloud and logistics area, as well as international e-commerce, have developed positively.

    The Company had already indicated its intention to invest in the future in the past quarter. Whether these will pay off in the long term remains to be seen. The management has recognized the signs of the times and is pursuing a plan to make the Company more successful. The share reacted to the gap-down after the figures with strong buying and is currently trading at USD 107.94. In order to break the existing downward trend, the value would have to exceed USD 129.40 on a closing price basis. Until then, one should wait and see.

    Hong Lai Huat - Cambodia Agri-Hub picks up speed

    Singapore-based Hong Lai Huat Group is a real estate developer and builder with 30 years of experience. In addition to Singapore, it is active in Cambodia and has started two major construction projects there in recent years. After the difficulty in Cambodia for the last 2 years due to the Corona Crisis, the country has now opened up entirely again. Angelina Jolie's visit to the country for the first time since the Corona Crisis is further evidence of this. The D'Seaview project has been completed, and in the ongoing Royal Platinum project, the Company owns 50% of the shares. The properties each have at least 737 residential and 50 commercial units. In addition, the Company owns the rights to a 100 sq km Agri-Hub project.

    There, the Company announced on February 18 that it is working with the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF). It will give the Company access to 5,000 members of the SMF. In return, SMF companies will gain access to Cambodia and be able to draw on Hong Lai Huat's local expertise. The Agri-Hub area is tsunami safe 130m above sea level and will include everything from factories, logistics centers, plantations, livestock and housing. Electricity is to be generated by renewable energy, and water treatment plants are also planned. The development is divided into 3 phases and will no doubt take several years to complete.

    Group General Manager and Executive Director Dylan Ong put the value of the project's first phase at USD 1 billion during his presentation at the International Investment Forum. The market capitalization is a favorable 48.7 million Singapore dollars (SGD), most of which is covered by cash holdings and real estate. Since September last year, the stock has been running sideways between SGD 0.092 and SGD 0.104. It is currently trading at SGD 0.094. Before Corona, the stock was trading at SGD 0.25. The main shareholder of the Company is the family of the founder. It holds over 47%. With the Corona pandemic subsiding and new opportunities to accelerate the development of the Agri-Hub, this offers a good risk-reward ratio.

    BYD - International expansion and good sales figures

    In China, the electric vehicle (EV) market is humming. According to the China Passenger Association, sales in 2021 increased to 2.99 million cars or 169%. That means that 14.8% of all new vehicles are electric, and an increase to 20% is expected in 2022. One of the beneficiaries is BYD, which manufactures cars of all types with electric drives. The Chinese group, which is also active in the battery market, is pushing the international expansion of its electric vehicles. Having taken the step into Europe in Norway and been very successful, Down-Under is next on the agenda.

    The Company is exporting a low-cost zero-emission SUV to Australia. In China, the vehicle was sold under the name "Yuan Plus"; in Australia, the vehicle will be launched in showrooms as the "Atto 3". The electric SUV scores with up to 480km range and costs between 31,500 and 34,000 Australian dollars, depending on the battery. The installed Blade batteries are considered the leader in the EV market.

    Despite 362% more vehicles sold in January than the previous year, the share price recently took a bit of a hit due to the geopolitical tensions on the stock markets. The stock is currently trading at EUR 27.12. Twice in the past month, the share has tested the support from September 2021 at EUR 25.05. In order to break the downward trend, prices above EUR 30.24 on a closing price basis are required. To do this, the resistance at EUR 28.69 must first be overcome. The EV market is not saturated either in China or internationally.


    At the time of writing this article, the news came in that China wants to hold a military exercise near the border with Taiwan in the coming days. With that, one should first wait for this exercise before investing in Alibaba or BYD. Singapore and the Hong Lai Huat Group are not affected by this and seem to be an exciting investment from a fundamental point of view, especially since Cambodia is one of the fastest-growing countries in the region.


    Conflict of interest

    Pursuant to §85 of the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG), we point out that Apaton Finance GmbH as well as partners, authors or employees of Apaton Finance GmbH (hereinafter referred to as "Relevant Persons") may hold shares or other financial instruments of the aforementioned companies in the future or may bet on rising or falling prices and thus a conflict of interest may arise in the future. The Relevant Persons reserve the right to buy or sell shares or other financial instruments of the Company at any time (hereinafter each a "Transaction"). Transactions may, under certain circumstances, influence the respective price of the shares or other financial instruments of the Company.

    In addition, Apaton Finance GmbH is active in the context of the preparation and publication of the reporting in paid contractual relationships.

    For this reason, there is a concrete conflict of interest.

    The above information on existing conflicts of interest applies to all types and forms of publication used by Apaton Finance GmbH for publications on companies.

    Risk notice

    Apaton Finance GmbH offers editors, agencies and companies the opportunity to publish commentaries, interviews, summaries, news and the like on news.financial. These contents are exclusively for the information of the readers and do not represent any call to action or recommendations, neither explicitly nor implicitly they are to be understood as an assurance of possible price developments. The contents do not replace individual expert investment advice and do not constitute an offer to sell the discussed share(s) or other financial instruments, nor an invitation to buy or sell such.

    The content is expressly not a financial analysis, but a journalistic or advertising text. Readers or users who make investment decisions or carry out transactions on the basis of the information provided here do so entirely at their own risk. No contractual relationship is established between Apaton Finance GmbH and its readers or the users of its offers, as our information only refers to the company and not to the investment decision of the reader or user.

    The acquisition of financial instruments involves high risks, which can lead to the total loss of the invested capital. The information published by Apaton Finance GmbH and its authors is based on careful research. Nevertheless, no liability is assumed for financial losses or a content-related guarantee for the topicality, correctness, appropriateness and completeness of the content provided here. Please also note our Terms of use.


    Der Autor

    Armin Schulz

    Born in Mönchengladbach, he studied business administration in the Netherlands. In the course of his studies he came into contact with the stock exchange for the first time. He has more than 25 years of experience in stock market business.

    About the author



    Related comments:

    Commented by Nico Popp on October 22nd, 2025 | 07:10 CEST

    Hype and day-to-day business – What matters now: European Lithium, BMW, Mercedes-Benz

    • Mining
    • Lithium
    • CriticalMetals
    • Electromobility
    • RareEarths

    European Lithium shares have recently caused quite a stir. But what is behind the surge that has multiplied its value within just a few days? What role does the Company actually play - for the US and also for Europe? We sort through the many reports on European Lithium and show where the Company could be headed in the medium term. One thing seems certain: Without European Lithium, the outlook for the automotive industry on both sides of the Atlantic looks bleak. Reason enough to take a closer look at the background.

    Read

    Commented by Carsten Mainitz on October 21st, 2025 | 07:40 CEST

    Power Metallic Mines, RENK, BYD – An explosive combination! And the winners are?

    • Mining
    • Copper
    • Nickel
    • Gold
    • CriticalMetals
    • Electromobility
    • Defense

    Many topics are dominating the headlines. Peace in Gaza – and soon in Ukraine? This prospect initially put a significant damper on defense stocks – but only temporarily. After just a few days of correction, prices are already rising again. Gold at an all-time high is another major topic being covered in the media. Meanwhile, the geopolitical shifts we were reluctant to acknowledge for far too long are now catching up with many companies: China is cutting the world off from critical raw materials and rare earths. Read here to find out how investors can identify promising high-potential opportunities in this constellation.

    Read

    Commented by Armin Schulz on October 21st, 2025 | 07:25 CEST

    Who benefits, who suffers? The raw materials crisis in e-mobility: BYD, Graphano Energy, and Volkswagen

    • Mining
    • graphite
    • Energy
    • renewableenergies
    • Electromobility
    • rawmaterials

    The future of mobility is being decided in the battery factory. Innovative battery cells promise longer ranges and lower costs, but the road to getting there is marked by a fierce race for scarce raw materials and technological supremacy. This tension between disruptive progress and geopolitical risks creates unique opportunities for companies that navigate the transformation strategically. Today, we take a closer look at how BYD, Graphano Energy, and Volkswagen are currently positioning themselves.

    Read