(Yicai Global) Aug. 17 -- Beijing-based private equity firm Hillhouse Capital, which is known for its early investment in tech giants such as Tencent Holdings and Video Zoom Communications, has reduced its holdings of e-commerce platforms Pinduoduo and JD.Com in the second quarter while increasing its stakes in new energy vehicle makers Nio and Xpeng Motors.

Hillhouse had positions in 89 US-listed firms with a total market value of USD9.7 billion as of June 30, lower than the USD10.1 billion logged on March 31, the company's fund management arm Hillhouse Capital Advisors said in a statement yesterday.

Hillhouse purchased 732,000 American depositary receipts of Nio and 238,000 Xpeng ADRs over the quarter. That shows a change of wind as the investor had sold all its holdings of these two NEV makers in the fourth quarter of 2020. Part of the rekindled interest may have been the declining stock prices in the first quarter. Shares of Shanghai-based Nio are more than a quarter down this year while those of Guangzhou-based Xpeng have slid by almost 15 percent.

E-commerce was falling out of favor. The PE firm had sold 3.3 million ADRs of Pinduoduo and 479,000 ADRs of JD.Com in the second quarter. Group-buying platform Pinduoduo's stock price has slumped by half this year while that of JD.Com has dropped by more than a quarter.

Top 10

The latest data show Hillhouse's top 10 positions include medical and internet firms. The group consists of biotech company BeiGene, Pinduoduo, video platform iQiyi, I-Mab Biopharma, insurer Enstar Group, Zoom, BridgeBio Pharma, Airbnb, JD.Com, and software giant Salesforce.com, together accounting for more than 61 percent of the total.

New positions were revealed. The statement shows that the early-stage investing titan holds some 3 million shares of ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing which went public in the States in June. The PE firm participated in the mobility company's earlier financing.

Hillhouse is a supporter of biomedicine. Nearly half of the 89 companies that the firm had stakes in were biomedical companies. Cancer treatment developer BeiGene has been one of Hillhouse's top five investing targets for several quarters, making up almost a fifth of its portfolio in the second quarter.

When one of the largest investment institutions in Asia buys and sells, others tend to follow. In the first quarter of this year, Hillhouse became a hot topic in the industry after the firm sold a lot of shares in the Chinese online education sector, including TAL Group, amid strengthening regulation.

Editor: Emmi Laine