Weakening China Drags Down Billionaire Lei Zhang in Q1

#3 Ctrip.com International, Ltd. (ADR) (NASDAQ:CTRP)

 – Shares Owned by Hillhouse Capital (as of December 31): 7.48 Million

 – Value of Holding (as of December 31): $346.35 Million

Hillhouse doubled its holding in the travel service provider during the fourth trimester, and while the stock didn’t take off in the first quarter, it did fare better than many of its Chinese peers, posting a modest dip of 3%. Ctrip.com International, Ltd. (ADR) (NASDAQ:CTRP)’s fourth quarter EPS of $0.11 was $0.05 ahead of estimates, while its revenue of RMB2.87 billion ($440 million) marked a 50.3% increase from the year-ago period. However, light guidance and decelerating growth has investors somewhat cautious about the company. Ken Fisher‘s Fisher Asset Management has high hopes for Ctrip.com International, Ltd. (ADR) (NASDAQ:CTRP), as it raised its stake in the stock by 118% to 8.84 million shares during the fourth quarter.

#2 Qunar Cayman Islands Ltd (NASDAQ:QUNR)

 – Shares Owned by Hillhouse Capital (as of December 31): 6.75 Million

 – Value of Holding (as of December 31): $355.79 Million

Hillhouse’s Qunar Cayman Islands Ltd (NASDAQ:QUNR) holding, which was unchanged during the fourth quarter, slid in value during the March quarter, as the company’s stock plummeted by 23%. However, that performance was perhaps somewhat expected after the stock skyrocketed by about 75% during the fourth quarter of 2015. The circumstances have now changed for the $5.75 billion online travel provider after its rival Ctrip.com International, Ltd. (ADR) (NASDAQ:CTRP) acquired a 45% stake in the company late last year. According to some analysts this will seriously hinder Qunar’s growth, as in order to reduce competition, Ctrip.com will pressure it to discontinue its merchant model hotels and high-end hotel offerings, which accounted for about 25% of Qunar’s hotel revenue last year. Hence, Deutsche Bank downgraded Qunar Cayman Islands Ltd (NASDAQ:QUNR) to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’ recently and set a price target of $38 on it, which would represent a sizable decline of about 14% from its shares’ current value. Soros Fund Management, the family office of the man who is known to have broken the Bank of England, George Soros, slashed its Qunar holding by 59% to 1.13 million shares during the fourth quarter.

#1 JD.Com Inc(ADR) (NASDAQ:JD)

 – Shares Owned by Hillhouse Capital (as of December 31): 122.61 Million

 – Value of Holding (as of December 31): $3.96 Billion

An 11% reduction to its JD.Com Inc(ADR) (NASDAQ:JD) holding during the fourth quarter helped Hillhouse escape some of the losses from the stock’s 17% decline in the first quarter. While the online direct sales company has been drawing customers away from its larger rival Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA), the move has also significantly hiked the company’s costs, causing a reduction in gross margin. This led analysts to reduce their profit forecasts for the company by 56% between mid-February and mid-March. More funds are also being allocated to JD.com’s financing arm in a bid to attract customers to brick-and-mortar stores. Stephen Mandel‘s Lone Pine Capital acted prudently when it reduced its JD.Com Inc(ADR) (NASDAQ:JD) holding by 38% to about 27 million shares during the final three months of 2015.

Disclosure: None