HSBC Research says Chinese internet stocks have lagged YTD on investor concerns
about higher AI spending and disruptive AI agents, ongoing regulatory scrutiny
and US listings on a military-related entity list, and weak consumption. The
bank notes large-cap Chinese internet names trade at a c.47% PE discount to US
peers and China AI concepts at c.40%. HSBC flags that market fears of a MaaS
token price war may be overblown. It estimates Alibaba’s MaaS business is
materially undervalued—using $1.5bn annualized revenue as of June and a 21x
P/ARR multiple implies potential value of $13 per share; cloud gross-margin
expansion and a possible chip-unit spin-off add upside. HSBC also says external
financing of Kuaishou’s Keling unit could be a key catalyst; on $500m ARR and
21–30x P/ARR it implies HK$22–32 per share.
