Doris Yu · · 2 min readByteDance rival Kuaishou’s shares see up to 200% surge in Hong Kong debut
Chinese short-video platform Kuaishou saw a nearly 200% growth in its shares as a result of its debut in the Hong Kong stock market, with its shares opening at HK$338 (US$43.6).
The firm raised US$5.4 billion from its initial public offering after selling 365 million shares at HK$115 (US$14.8) apiece.
Photo credit: Kuaishou
Launched in 2011, Kuaishou operates a video-sharing app and competes with TikTok’s Chinese counterpart Douyin.
The average daily active users of Kuaishou’s apps and mini-programs exceeded 300 million in China in the first half of 2020, according to its website.
Recently, the short-video startup entered the livestreaming ecommerce space and claims to have been the second-largest livestreaming ecommerce platform by gross merchandise value in 2019.
Kuaishou’s listing comes after US-listed Chinese companies – Alibaba, JD.com, and NetEase – went for a secondary listing in Hong Kong amid heightened tensions between the US and China.
A slew of Chinese tech firms also reportedly plan to go public in Hong Kong. Nasdaq-listed Chinese video-sharing platform Bilibili was said to have filed for an IPO in the city, which aims to raise over US$2 billion, while JD.com’s distribution arm is reportedly planning for an IPO as soon as this month.
The Kuaishou IPO comes as Chinese tech companies face tightening regulations, with the government launching anti-monopoly draft rules.
Currency converted from Hong Kong dollar to US dollar: US$1 = HK$7.75
Editing by Collin Furtado and Jaclyn Teng
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