Asian equities specialist, Matthews Asia, has been caught up in some rather bizarre conspiracy theories of late. The $17 billion firm was forced to clarify it has no links to Nancy Pelosi after rumours spread online that Pelosi’s husband, Paul Francis Pelosi, is the founder of the firm.
Matthews Asia was in fact founded by Paul… you guessed it… Matthews.
While social media has lit up with impossible theories about how the Matthews Asia portfolios could have benefited from the market implications of Pelosi’s Taiwan visit, we thought we’d check out what the highly respected investment firm has really been up to.
According to 13F filings, here’s the 7 Chinese stocks the Matthews Asia investment team, lead by CIO Robbert Horrocks, bought in the second quarter of 2022.
Huazhu Group (NASDAQ: HTHT)
Huazhu is the biggest addition to Matthews Asia’s portfolios over the past three months.
It appears to be a COVID-19 re-opening play. Headquartered in Shanghai, Huazhu is one of the largest hotel groups in the world. According to the company’s website it operates 8100 hotels in over 1000 cities globally, with its biggest footprint being across China’s mainland.
Matthews Asia bought 388,100 Huazhu Group shares during Q2 2022, an investment likely to have totalled around US$11.5 million.
Pinduoduo Inc (NASDAQ: PDD)
Innovative ecommerce platform, Pinduoduo, connects fresh produce growers and producers to consumers across China. The platform has seen explosive growth in recent years.
Matthews Asia purchased an additional 97,018 PDD shares during Q2 2022, lifting the investment firm’s existing position in the company by around 7%.
The additional investment came with a price tag of approximately US$3.5m
Full Truck Alliance (NYSE: YMM)
Full Truck Alliance is a Chinese tech company that underpins logistics operations in the shipping and trucking industries in China
Matthews Asia purchased 504,300 new shares, raising its existing YMM holding by just over 40%.
The new shares constituted and investment worth around US$7.5m.
Legend Biotech Corp (NASDAQ: LEGN)
Legend Biotech is drug development company focussed on developing and commercializing treatments for deadly diseases.
It saw a big investment from Matthews Asia in Q2, with the firm purchasing 121,800 new shares, worth around US$5m.
The buy lifted Mathews Asia’s stake in Legend Biotech by 11%.
Kanzhun Ltd (NASDAQ: BZ)
Kanzhun operates Chinese mobile apps that connect job seekers and employers.
Matthews Asia bought 192,100 Kanzhun shares during the quarter – almost doubling its existing stake.
The new investment would be worth around US$5m.
Zhihu Inc (NYSE: ZH)
Zhihu Inc can be best described as the Quora of China.
It’s been tough going for the internet platform since going public in March 2021, with its NYSE-listed ADR shares down more than 80%.
But Matthews Asia sees value here, with Zhihu becoming a new addition to the firm’s portfolios. It scooped up 2,686,800 shares worth approximately US$4.8m.
Bilibili Inc (NASDAQ: BILI)
Matthews Asia has grown its position in Bilibili by 14% over the past three months. The firm purchased 114,900 new Bilibili shares, worth approximately US$2.5m.
Bilibili is a Chinese social media platform that now boasts over 80 million active daily users. It is predominately used to share video content.
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