Tencent-backed Kuaishou files for Hong Kong IPO

Chinese video-sharing mobile app Kuaishou has filed a preliminary prospectus with the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, signaling its preparations for an initial public offering in the city.

The company, however, disclosed neither a specific timetable nor the size of its financial debut. Just last month, it was reported that Kuaishou is looking to raise up to US$5 billion in its public listing, which may come as early as January.

Kuaishou founders Su Hua (left) and Cheng Yixiao / Photo credit: Kuaishou

In the prospectus, Kuaishou disclosed that its revenue for the first half of 2020 increased to 25.3 billion yuan (US$3.82 billion), representing year-on-year growth of about 48.3%. It generated revenues of 39.1 billion yuan (US$5.9 billion) in full-year 2019.

Citing data from iResearch, the company also said it was the top video-based social platform in China in terms of activeness: It had 302 million daily active users and 776 million monthly active users on its apps and mini-programs from the start of the year through June 30.

Most of the company’s revenue was generated from its livestreaming service, it said in the prospectus. Kuaishou claimed that this business alone generated 17.3 billion yuan (US$2.61 billion) to account for 68.5% of its total revenues during the first six months of 2020.

Livestreaming also accounted for a major part of the company’s total revenues in previous years. This was before it diversified to other verticals such as short videos.

Earlier this year, Kuaishou launched its own TikTok competitor Zynn, which quickly became the most popular app on the US Apple App Store a month later.

Kuaishou’s filing comes after Ant Group suspended its listing in Hong Kong, after the Shanghai Exchange halted the Alibaba-linked company’s A-share IPO on its STAR Market.

Currency converted from yuan to US dollar: US$1 = 6.63 yuan.