KE Holdings explained

KE Holdings Inc.
Trading Name:Beike
Native Name:贝壳控股有限公司
Type:Public
Traded As:
HKEX:
Industry:Real estate
Location:Beijing, China
Key People:Peng Yongdong (Chairman & CEO)
Revenue: (2023)
Net Income: (2023)
Assets: (2023)
Equity: (2023)
Num Employees:116,344 (2023)
Subsid:Beike
Lianjia
Footnotes:[1]

KE Holdings Inc. (KE;) is a publicly listed Chinese real estate holding company that engages in the provision of an integrated online and offline platform for housing transactions and services through its subsidiaries. It is the largest online real estate transaction platform in China.

Investors often refer to the collective business as "Beike".

Background

Lianjia (formerly Homelink) was founded as a real estate brokerage by Zuo Hui in November 2001 with an initial staff of 27 people.[2]

Due to the competition for real estate brokerages, information was not centralized and it was difficult to maintain accurate up to date information. In April 2018, Zuo, Peng Yongdong and Shan Yigang launched Beike, an online platform that helps match customer to real estate agents. KE was incorporated in July 2018 as a holding company for both Lianjia and Beike.[3] [4] [5]

At the start, Beike drew most of its senior management from Lianjia. It aimed to establish an independent third-party trading platform similar to Taobao that would allow resources to be open to all real estate agents. Zuo came up with the idea of an agent cooperation network after studying multiple service listing systems in the U.S.[6]

KE received financial backing from Tencent, SoftBank Group and Hillhouse Investment.[7] [8]

In August 2020, KE held its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) raising US$2.12 billion. On the first day of trading, the stock jumped 87% valuing the company at just under US$40 billion.

In May 2022, KE became a dual-listed company after it listed its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.[9]

Business structure

KE owns two majors businesses. Lianjia and Beike. Lianjia is a real estate agent while Beike is an online platform that helps match customers to estate agents (which includes Lianjia). Lianjia has been compared to Redfin while Beike has been compared to Zillow. [10]

KE operates four business segments:

Controversies

On 20 May 2021, KE's co-founder and then chairman, Zuo died of illness resulting in KE's stock price dropping more than 10% afterwards. According to a shareholder, although Zuo was diagnosed with cancer several years ago, KE never disclosed his health issues in its regulatory filing which could raise the risk of allegations of failure to disclose key information. Peng succeeded by Peng who became KE's new chairman.[11]

Shortly after, it was stated that the State Administration for Market Regulation was investigating KE for suspected anticompetitive practices. However KE via WeChat released a statement saying it was "fake news".[12]

In December 2021, Muddy Waters Research announced it taken a short position against KE after it released a report stating that KE had committed "systemic fraud" and inflated its sales and revenue figures in its financial statements. KE stated the report was flawed and had used an invalid methodology although it would conduct an internal review of the allegations.[13] [14] Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP launched a class action lawsuit on behalf of investors against KE accusing its disseminating false and misleading Information. In April 2024, judge Gregory H. Woods dismissed most of the shareholder case but stated there was some validity based on the report that KE's filings did contain false statements.[15]

In April 2022, KE was added to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission watchlist after failing afoul the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act.[16]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2023 Annual Report . https://web.archive.org/web/20240512011426/https://investors.ke.com/system/files-encrypted/nasdaq_kms/assets/2024/04/26/8-34-16/0001104659-24-052448.pdf . 2024-05-12.
  2. Web site: Kwong . Man-ki . 13 September 2014 . Homelink plans course correction to ride out China's property downturn . 12 May 2024 . South China Morning Post . en . 2 December 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231202023034/https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1591284/homelink-plans-course-correction-ride-out-chinas-property . live .
  3. Web site: 2023 Annual Report . 12 May 2024 . 12 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240512011426/https://investors.ke.com/system/files-encrypted/nasdaq_kms/assets/2024/04/26/8-34-16/0001104659-24-052448.pdf . live .
  4. Web site: Towson . Jeffrey . 25 April 2021 . Lianjia and Beike's Big Platform Play in Chinese Real Estate (Tech Strategy – Daily Article) . 12 May 2024 . Jeffrey Towson 陶迅 . 12 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240512021046/https://jefftowson.com/membership_content/lianjia-and-beikes-really-big-platform-play-in-chinese-real-estate-asia-tech-strategy-daily-update/ . live .
  5. Web site: Feng . Linyan . 16 May 2019 . Beike: Pivoting Towards New Real-estate Brokerage Horizon . 12 May 2024 . EqualOcean . en . 12 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240512031254/https://equalocean.com/analysis/2019051611062 . live .
  6. Web site: Niu . Mujiangqu . 20 May 2021 . Update: Founder of Property Services Giant KE Holdings Dies - Caixin Global . 12 May 2024 . www.caixinglobal.com . en . 12 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240512021044/https://www.caixinglobal.com/2021-05-20/founder-of-property-services-giant-ke-holdings-dies-101715691.html . live .
  7. Web site: Liu . Pearl . 20 May 2021 . Zuo Hui, who built China's biggest online property platform, dies at 50 . 12 May 2024 . South China Morning Post . en . 12 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240612050422/https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3134223/zuo-hui-founder-chinas-biggest-online-real-estate-platform-beike-zhaofang . live .
  8. Web site: Liu . Pearl . 14 August 2020 . Tencent-backed Beike surges on NYSE debut amid strained US-China ties . 12 May 2024 . South China Morning Post . en . 12 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240512021044/https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3097307/beike-zhaofang-stock-surges-nyse-debut-after-solid-ipo-reception . live .
  9. Web site: Pacheco . Filipe . 11 May 2022 . Chinese Online Property Platform KE Holdings Debuts in Hong Kong . 12 May 2024 . www.bloomberg.com . 11 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220511100743/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-11/chinese-online-platform-ke-holdings-starts-trading-in-hong-kong . live .
  10. Web site: Nga . Lawrence . 5 May 2023 . 1 Chinese Tech Giant Investors Should Watch, and It's Not Alibaba . 12 May 2024 . The Motley Fool . en . 12 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240512031254/https://www.fool.com/investing/2023/05/05/1-chinese-tech-giant-investors-should-watch-and-it/ . live .
  11. Web site: Arcibal . Cheryl . 24 May 2021 . Beike names CEO Peng Yongdong as new chairman following Zuo Hui's death . 12 May 2024 . South China Morning Post . en . 12 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240512025259/https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3134689/beike-names-ceo-peng-yongdong-new-chairman-following-zuo-huis . live .
  12. Web site: Liu . Pearl . 25 May 2021 . Tencent's housing broker Beike is under antitrust probes . 12 May 2024 . South China Morning Post . en . 12 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240512025850/https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3134771/tencents-housing-broker-beike-regulators-cross-hairs-chinas . live .
  13. Web site: Caillavet . Christopher . 20 December 2021 . Beike Denies Muddy Waters Report of Fraud, Fake Revenue . 12 May 2024 . Mingtiandi . en-US . 12 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240512030804/https://www.mingtiandi.com/real-estate/finance/beike-denies-muddy-waters-report-of-fraud-fake-revenue/ . live .
  14. News: Bao . Anniek . 17 December 2021 . Chinese Real-Estate Broker KE Holdings to Conduct Review Into Fraud Allegations . 12 May 2024 . WSJ . en-US . 12 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240512025259/https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-real-estate-broker-ke-holdings-to-conduct-review-into-fraud-allegations-11639752287 . live .
  15. News: Frankel . Alison . Frankel . Alison . 27 February 2024 . Muddy Waters Research report saves shareholder case against China's biggest real estate brokerage . 12 May 2024 . Reuters . en.
  16. Web site: Caillavet . Christopher . 23 April 2022 . Beike Added to SEC Watchlist, Faces Possible Delisting . 12 May 2024 . Mingtiandi . en-US . 12 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240512030802/https://www.mingtiandi.com/real-estate/finance/beike-added-to-sec-watchlist-faces-possible-delisting/ . live .

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