$TRIP.COM-S (09961.HK)$ In early trading, as of the time of publication, it rose by 4.79% to HK$521, with a turnover of 0.399 billion Hong Kong dollars.

CICC research report pointed out that the size of the Asia-Pacific tourism market exceeds that of the mainland China market, with a continuous increase in online penetration rate and a dispersed market competition. According to Euromonitor, the size of the Asia-Pacific tourism market outside mainland China in 2019 was approximately 344.1 billion US dollars, surpassing the size of the mainland China market. The CAGR from 2010 to 2019 was 4.1%, higher than the global growth rate; meanwhile, there is still room for improvement in online penetration rate relative to the global level. In terms of competitive landscape, the concentration in East Asia and Southeast Asia is not high, indicating further integration potential; in addition, leading overseas OTAs focus more on the European and American markets, with relatively limited presence in the Asia-Pacific region. The bank believes that Trip.com may benefit from this.

The bank believes that Trip.com's market share is expected to increase to 14.6% by 2026. The bank expects Trip.com to achieve revenue of 13 billion yuan in 2026, accounting for approximately 18% of Ctrip Group's revenue, and achieve a break-even in operating profit. In the long term, the bank believes that Trip.com is expected to match the profit margin level of leading overseas OTAs. The target prices for US stocks and Hong Kong stocks have been raised by 20% each to US$75.9 and HK$588.5 respectively, maintaining an outperform industry rating.