Recently, the Hong Kong stock market has been heating up following the A-shares market with many hot stocks emerging. Among them, the car retailer that will soon be celebrating its one-year listing anniversary$XXF (02473.HK)$has seen its stock price rising steadily, and as of the close of trading today, the stock price has surged nearly 13 times from the IPO price.

XXF Group debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on November 9, 2023, selling 0.103 billion shares at HK$1.1 per share, raising approximately HK$0.113 billion. The company's stock price soared from its listing price of HK$1.1 to a historic high of HK$18.7 on October 31, 2024, marking a peak increase of 16 times. Following a recent high-level correction over the past two trading days, the closing price today was HK$15.24, representing a cumulative increase of 12.85 times since the IPO, with a total market value of approximately HK$7.86 billion.

Public data shows that XXF Group, established in 2007, is a well-known car retailer. XXF Group's main business focuses on two areas - car retailing and financing, selling mostly non-luxury cars through direct financing and leasing, as well as providing car operational leasing services and other related car services. The company ranks fourth among all retail car financing and leasing companies in China, with a market share of 4.1%.

In December 2015, as the first car financing and leasing service provider to go public in China, XXF Group was listed on the National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ). A year later, in December 2016, the company delisted from NEEQ.

In terms of performance, as of June 30, 2024, the company recorded a revenue of 0.659 billion yuan (RMB) for the six-month period, an increase of 9.6% year-on-year; gross profit was 0.209 billion yuan, a 6.1% year-on-year increase. During the reporting period, the group's adjusted net income was 23.874 million yuan, a 7.8% increase from the same period last year. This increase was mainly due to the group's stable business development, deepening of its network layout, and sales growth in its core operations during the reporting period.

At the mid-year performance briefing in 2024, XXF Group's management highlighted the company's focus on non-luxury car brands in second and third-tier cities. The significant growth in car retailing and financing business. The company plans to continue focusing on the lower-tier markets, expanding its sales network, improving single-store operation efficiency, actively expanding overseas business, and digital transformation, striving to become the most user-friendly car service platform.

The data shows that in 2023, China's auto export volume reached 5.221 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 57.4%, making it the world's largest auto exporter. XXF actively seizes the market opportunity of auto exports to promote its business expansion. In 2024, the company initiated auto sales export business to demonstrate innovative prospects, and gradually promoted auto financing and leasing export business, providing international market consumers with more flexible car purchase options, driving the expansion of domestic autos in the global market, and consolidating its global development strategy.

On September 4th, XXF Group and$BAIC MOTOR (01958.HK)$The strategic cooperation signing ceremony was successfully held at BAIC Marketing Company headquarters, officially announcing the start of a new round of strategic cooperation to jointly explore new paths for auto innovation and industry development. Since 2018, XXF Group has maintained a close cooperation relationship with BAIC.

In fact, in addition to XXF Group, there have been frequent hot stocks among Hong Kong stocks that have been listed for less than a year. According to Wind's statistics, there are a total of 73 recent IPOs in Hong Kong stocks within one year of listing, among which 10 have doubled in cumulative gains since listing.

In addition to XXF Group, there are also$EASOU TECH (02550.HK)$,$LAOPU GOLD (06181.HK)$,$CARLINK TECH (02531.HK)$,$WELLCELL HOLD (02477.HK)$Since its listing, the stock price has accumulated a more than threefold increase.

Among them, Yisou Technology was listed on June 7th, and has soared 6.76 times since its listing. Yisou Technology surged by 58.31% and 67.16% on October 4th and October 7th respectively, but plummeted by 23.45% on October 31st. The stock increased by 1.34 times in October.

Yisou Technology is a digital reading vendor, with its key IP being Yisou Novels. In terms of business model, Yisou Technology generates revenue by pushing digital content to end users through apps, H5 pages, and monetizing content through paid subscriptions and free content plus advertising.

The prospectus shows that in 2021, iReader APP had 18 million monthly active users, making it the fifth largest online literature reading platform in China after China Lit, iReader Technology, Migu Digital Media, and Alibaba Literature. In the first half of 2024, iReader Technology's total revenue increased by 13.37% year-on-year to approximately 0.278 billion yuan; gross profit was about 0.115 billion yuan, with a gross margin of 41.31%; the adjusted profit during the period was 17.722 million yuan, turning a profit compared to a loss of 2.924 million yuan in the same period last year. In September, the company was included in the Hong Kong Stock Connect, which may have helped boost the company's stock price to some extent.

It is worth mentioning that on May 31, it was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.$AUTOSTREETS (02443.HK)$, the stock has doubled since its listing, experiencing a "crazy October" where it surged 95% on October 8 alone, with a total increase of over 5 times in October.

Autostreets is a trading intermediary connecting buyers and sellers of used cars, mainly providing a used car trading platform for buyers and sellers through an auction model. According to Zhaoshizixun's data, in terms of trading volume in 2022, Autostreets is the largest used car trading service provider in the country.

However, the new stock market in Hong Kong has never been as strong as the A-share market. Among the 73 recent IPOs, only 34 have had a positive increase since listing, accounting for less than half. Among them, there are recent IPOs that have surged, as well as those that have experienced a sudden drop.

Since its listing on November 3, 2023,$UBOX ONLINE (02429.HK)$For example, it has just been listed for one year, and today it plunged by 53.53%. Ubox Online is the leading company in the domestic vending machine industry, and its stock price 'diving' may be related to the large-scale stock unlocking.

On November 3rd this year, Ubox Online had a total of about 0.27 billion shares unlocked, accounting for 27.88% of the total share capital, involving shareholders including Ant Group's Shanghai Yunxin Entrepreneurship Investment Co., Ltd., Chunhua Rongshun (Tianjin) Equity Investment Fund Partnership Enterprise, Nayuki Tea, Sensetime's indirect wholly-owned subsidiary SensePower, Shenzhen Malacca Network Technology Co., Ltd., and other cornerstone investors.

Editor/new