Key Takeaways:
- Duan Yongping disclosed a 5.69% stake in Pop Mart
- The holding is worth about HKD 11.8 billion
- He sold China Shenhua shares to fund the purchase
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Duan Yongping takes 5.69% stake in Pop Mart worth HKD 11.8B
Duan Yongping accumulated a 5.69% stake in Pop Mart worth HKD 11.8 billion, a Hong Kong exchange filing showed.
"Pop Mart's earnings sparked my curiosity — I spent days understanding the business," Duan Yongping, founder of BBK Electronics and a prominent value investor, said on social media.
Duan and his controlled entity H&H International LLC held 76.4 million shares as of May 25, triggering the disclosure threshold. The stake was built over roughly one month, with Duan publicly disclosing on May 7 that he sold shares of China Shenhua Energy to buy Pop Mart.
The investment marks one of Duan's largest single-stock bets in Asia outside his core US portfolio of Apple, Berkshire Hathaway and Nvidia. Pop Mart, which has a market value of HKD 206.8 billion, now counts one of China's most-followed investors among its top shareholders.
Duan began building the position in April through put option sales, which he described as opening a "Pop Mart insurance company." The investor said Pop Mart's earnings report piqued his interest, calling it "a long time since I felt this excited" about a company.
He identified several competitive advantages for the toy maker: established brand recognition, exclusive artist contracts, a global store network, and the leadership of Chief Executive Officer Wang Ning. "Pop Mart's moat is far stronger than people imagine," Duan wrote.
Duan compared Wang's product instincts to those of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, saying Wang "understands his products and pursues them at the same level as Jobs — at least he will in the future." He later clarified that while Jobs had unmatched product vision, Wang may have a stronger grasp of business strategy.
Separately, Duan's US equity portfolio totaled about $20 billion at the end of the first quarter, a 13F filing showed. Apple remained his largest holding at 36.7% of the portfolio, followed by Berkshire Hathaway at 21.9%. He added to positions in Nvidia, PDD Holdings and Tesla during the quarter while trimming Apple and Occidental Petroleum and exiting Alibaba.
The disclosure signals that one of Asia's most influential value investors sees significant upside in Pop Mart's business model. Investors will watch for further buying activity and the company's next earnings report to gauge whether Duan's conviction deepens.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
