1. Ant Financial Going Public

China’s dominant mobile payments firm and fintech arm of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, Ant Financial, on Tuesday filed for a dual-listing in Hong Kong and on Shanghai’s STAR Market in what could be the world’s largest IPO worth up to $30bn — The Edge (Link)

I am positive on this listing for Ant Financial, as $30bn is probably the biggest IPO issuance. Ant Financial is valued at around $150bn to $225bn according to latest estimates, which makes it the largest Fintech company in the world. I really like the dominant position enjoyed by Ant Financials through Ali Pay in the payments market in China, occupying almost two thirds of the $7 trillion market (Financial Review). I will be keeping close tabs on the development of this issuance as I think the offer price will be very attractive during the current recessionary conditions. It has been a while since an IPO issuance has got me excited, as I have a preference in accumulating shares in companies that have a monopolistic position in the market.

2. Bintai Kinden’s Bullish Share Price Run

Bintai Kinden Corp Bhd’s upward trajectory shows no signs of waning, as the company’s share price surged by up to one-third to 94 sen this morning. In the past three days alone, Bintai Kinden’s share price has more than tripled from 25.5 sen. The year-to-date increase is an astonishing 669.57% or a close to eight-fold spike from 11.5 sen. Bintai Kinden had inked a memorandum of understanding with Generex to fund and manage a synthetic peptide vaccine for Covid-19 — The Edge (Link)

I am going to be real here. This is a memorandum of understanding. It is a non-binding agreement meaning both parties can back out of it. Bintai will assume all costs related to commercialisation of the Cov-2 vacccine in Malaysia, and pay upfront development fees and back-end licensing payments. I am of the view that investors are jumping the gun in investing in Bintai, as they are investing in anything related to Covid-19 vaccine without doing further research into them. 

The development by Generex for the vaccine is actually still at very early stages. Generex is still in the pre-IND (Investigational New Drug) stage, where it has talked to the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) about matters relating to how Generex should commence the process of getting approval for the vaccine drug, and any other matters pertaining to it. The FDA will then write a written response to Generex to comment on the technology, methodology and any other matters. It has done so in Aug 24, where Generex will hold a teleconference on 27 Aug 2020 to talk about its plans to go public and also the written response from FDA. While the li-Key technology behind it does offer promises to the vaccine, it has not undergone any clinical trials. 

Another point I want to hit on is the fact that Bintai is essentially a engineering services company. It is mainly in the mechanical, electrical, and oil and gas industries. I don’t see how Bintai will be able to undertake this project (if they decide to) considering its current expertise.