UBS Group's investment banking China internet research director, Fang Jincong, stated that the competition in China's internet industry has gradually eased, platforms are moving towards cooperation, which will be beneficial for increasing monetization rates, thereby driving revenue growth and profit margin improvement.
According to the Futu Securities APP, UBS Group's investment banking China internet research director, Fang Jincong, stated that the competition in China's internet industry has gradually eased, platforms are moving towards cooperation, which will be beneficial for increasing monetization rates, thereby driving revenue growth and profit margin improvement. Currently, the PEG ratio of China's internet industry is around 1.1 times, at historical average levels. However, considering factors such as China's stimulating economic policies taking effect, easing competition, it is believed that the valuation of the internet sector is still undervalued, with further upside potential. A PEG ratio of 1.3 times would be a more reasonable expectation.
Among China's internet enterprises, there is a trend of 'breaking down walls' and accelerating 'interconnection' with competitor products, for instance, Alibaba (09988)'s Taobao and Tmall have recently started using Tencent (00700)'s WeChat Pay. Fang Jincong believes that the cooperation between platforms will help individual platform user growth, as well as improving conversion rates. If platforms can share anonymized data between them, it can further enhance the accuracy of ad push.
Regarding the consumer atmosphere in China, Fang Jincong mentioned that direct stimulus measures for consumption indeed show results quickly, such as the 'trade-in for new' plan boosting household appliance sales, and different cities also introducing dining vouchers and other consumption vouchers. However, for consumer sentiment to continuously improve, it requires support from factors like the real estate market recovery and positive job prospects. It is expected that consumer confidence will need two to three quarters to recover.