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Published: 17:57, March 23, 2023 | Updated: 17:58, March 23, 2023
China travel rebound bets turn to airports, away from airlines
By Agencies
Published:17:57, March 23, 2023 Updated:17:58, March 23, 2023 By Agencies

Passengers prepare to check in at Daxing International airport in Beijing on January 19, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

SINGAPORE - Investors hoping to cash in on a boom in Chinese travel after nearly three years of pandemic lockdowns are shifting into airports, hotels and duty-free operators and away from airlines subject to fluctuating fuel prices and more intense competition.

The first wave of bullishness as China began abandoning its zero-COVID policy in December lifted airline stocks and online travel agencies like Trip.com Group Ltd.

But with global airlines being slow to add capacity to connect China with the US and Europe and Chinese travelers preferring trips closer to home, a new set of stocks is benefiting.

Shares of airports, such as Airport of Bangkok and Shanghai International Airport have underperformed the big three Chinese airlines Air China, China Eastern and China Southern since the start of November, leaving room for further gains in the former

Thailand has re-emerged as a favourite destination for Chinese travelers, and also for investors.

ALSO READ: China's travel companies foretell huge earnings

"We were active earlier in terms of domestic travel, lodging space and airports, where we've done quite well," said Elaine Tse, portfolio manager at Allspring Global Investments. Tse said the firm has locked in some profits from those bets.

"We are optimistic on a rebound in regional and international travel and continue to get exposure through airports and airplane leasing."

Shares of airports, such as Airport of Bangkok and Shanghai International Airport have underperformed the big three Chinese airlines Air China, China Eastern and China Southern since the start of November, leaving room for further gains in the former.

Shares of Air China, China Eastern and China Southern have gained between 7 percent to 17 percent in the past four months, with Air China and China Southern trading above their 5-year average forward earnings, according to Refinitiv data.

In contrast, China Tourism Group Duty Free Corp trades at 28 times its forward earnings, well below a 5-year average.

ALSO READ: Asia's tourist hotspots brace for boom as China eases virus rules

In the battle for Chinese travelers, local airlines are expected to fare better than regional airlines such as Qantas, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific, mainly because Chinese airlines kept more widebody planes and staff ready.

China expects inbound and outbound tourist numbers in 2023 to reach more than 90 million, recovering to 31.5 percent of pre-pandemic levels. All three Chinese airlines are expected to swing to profit in 2023 after reporting losses last year, according to Refinitiv data.

Analysts expect Chinese airlines will see profits peak next year as international traffic makes a fuller rebound.

"I think we need to be patient and wait for the earnings to kick in to drive the valuations down," said Vey-Sern Ling, senior equity advisor at Union Bancaire Privee.

Hilde Jenssen, head of fundamental equities at Nordea Asset Management, has bought some consumer discretionary companies exposed to tourism such as duty-free operators in hopes of capturing secondary effects of the reopening.

READ MORE: China's outbound tourism expects revival as curbs ease

While investors were betting at the start of the year that sky-high Chinese household savings, which jumped to 17.8 trillion yuan ($2.61 trillion) last year, will lead to a post-pandemic splurge, Chinese consumers have so far been cautious.

Jenssen said earnings from some consumer discretionary companies showed they were restocking inventories in anticipation of strong demand.

"It might not be sort of the big bang that everybody was hoping for at the beginning of the year ... (but) there is definitely some pent up demand."


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