Dingdong agreed to sell its domestic grocery delivery operations to Meituan for $717 million, highlighting intense price wars in China's instant commerce sector. Meanwhile, India blocked a Chinese private equity firm's investment in an Italian company with Indian operations, signaling rising geopolitical protectionism in cross-border M&A deals.

Meituan reported a 15.7 billion yuan ($2.3 billion) loss in Q4 2025 due to intense price competition in China's instant commerce sector with Alibaba and JD.com. While the loss improved from Q3's 18.6 billion yuan, the company expects continued losses in 2026. China's market regulator recently called in major tech companies to address excessive competition. Meituan's stock has lost about half its value over 52 weeks, though the company acquired Dingdong for $717 million to strengthen its grocery delivery segment.

North of South Capital reduced its Vipshop stake by 1.09 million shares ($21.04 million) in Q4, cutting the position from 6.3% to 3.6% of assets. Despite the sale, the fund retained a $40 million stake. Vipshop reported Q3 revenue of $3 billion (up 3.4% YoY) and net income growth of 16.8%, with guidance for up to 5% revenue growth next quarter, suggesting the trim was tactical rather than a loss of confidence.

Despite Full Truck Alliance (YMM) stock falling nearly 20% in Q4 2025, London-based North of South Capital LLP increased its position by 240,446 shares, bringing its total stake to $116.40 million (10.46% of AUM). The fund's confidence appears grounded in the company's operational strength, with Q3 2025 showing 10.8% revenue growth and 22.3% order growth, despite near-term market skepticism around China tech stocks.

Dingdong, one of China's earliest online grocers, is selling its core China business to rival Meituan for $717 million as it struggles to compete against larger e-commerce giants like Alibaba and JD.com in the intense instant commerce sector. The deal represents a consolidation in China's online retail landscape, with Dingdong's stock falling 14% following the announcement. The combined entity will create a significant player in China's grocery delivery market.

East Buy announced plans to build same-day delivery capabilities in its top 10 cities and trial instant commerce fulfillment in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, entering the competitive instant commerce market dominated by Alibaba, JD.com, and Meituan. The company returned to profitability in the first half of its fiscal year with revenue growth of 5.7% year-on-year, driven by its private label business which now represents 53% of GMV. Stock rallied 14% on the announcement, though analysts note valuation concerns with a P/S ratio of 5.4.

China's BNPL market is projected to reach $277.81 billion by 2031, growing at 11.0% CAGR from 2026-2031. The market is dominated by super-app integrated platforms like Alipay's Huabei, JD Baitiao, and Meituan Monthly Pay, with regulatory tightening pushing providers toward licensed consumer-finance structures. Licensed lenders and banks are strengthening participation through co-lending partnerships, while competition intensifies around consumer-finance licenses and funding costs.

Cortland Associates sold 373,236 shares of JD.com worth approximately $11.67 million in Q4 2025, reducing its stake to 155,104 shares. The sale reflects JD.com's ongoing struggles with intense competition from rivals like Alibaba and Pinduoduo, margin pressures, and sluggish Chinese consumer market growth. JD shares have declined 64% over five years, significantly underperforming the S&P 500.

Alibaba is trading at mature platform valuations (17-21x P/E) despite strong AI cloud growth of 34% YoY with triple-digit AI revenue expansion and dominant 35.8% Chinese AI cloud market share. The company is sacrificing near-term margins through aggressive investment in quick commerce (up 60% YoY) and cloud infrastructure, with operating cash flow down 68% YoY. With $80.6B in cash and a strong balance sheet, management prioritizes long-term AI and commerce dominance over near-term earnings, suggesting the stock is undervalued relative to its strategic position.

CoreView Capital increased its stake in Kanzhun Limited (BZ) by 298,584 shares, bringing its total position to 9.4 million shares valued at $220.7 million, making it the fund's largest holding at 24.27% of AUM. Kanzhun, which operates China's largest online recruitment platform BOSS Zhipin, has demonstrated strong profitability with trailing twelve-month revenue of $1.09 billion and net income of $304 million. The stock has risen 51.4% over the past year, outperforming the S&P 500.

XY Capital has completely exited its JD.com position by selling 419,251 shares worth approximately $13.68 million. The fund's decision reflects JD.com's long-term underperformance, with the stock down 11.47% over the past year and underperforming the S&P 500 by 25.07 percentage points. XY Capital appears to be shifting focus toward Alibaba, which has dramatically outperformed JD.com and better aligns with a tech conglomerate model.

Novo Nordisk has slashed Wegovy prices by approximately 50% in Chinese provinces ahead of its semaglutide patent expiration in March, which will allow generic competitors to enter the market. The company also launched Ozempic in India at competitive pricing. Meanwhile, Eli Lilly is investing over $1 billion in India to strengthen its manufacturing capabilities in the growing diabetes and obesity markets.