Insta
Blockbuster IPO: Shares Of TikTok’s Chief Rival Kuaishou Surge By 194% On First Day Of Trading, Firm Valued At $159 billion
Kuaishou
Shares in Kuaishou,the Chinese video app that competes with Bytedance-owned Tiktok, surged by 194 % on the first day of trading in Hong Kong exchange, valuing the company at a whopping $159 billion.
Kuaishou’s shares were more than 1,200 times oversubscribed by retail investors and the company raised $5.4bn in its initial public offering. Tencent holds a 17.8% stake in the company.
Kuaishou, co-founded by Su Hua, a former Google developer and Cheng Yixiao, who began his career as a software engineer at HP, commands more than 300 million daily active users, a meteoric from an average of just 67 million in 2017. Close to 300 millions check the app 10 times a day and spend an average of 86 minutes watching video on the app. It hosted nearly 1 billion live-streaming sessions in the first half of 2020.
The major stream of revenue comes from what the firm calls “live-stream gifting”. The company takes a portion of “tips” that viewers shower on their favourite live-streamers. The viewers shower the live streamers with gifts like virtual beer stickers or golden dragons. Online advertising constituted for relatively a small share of revenue - just 28% in the first half of 2020
Originally a GIF-making app in 2011, it later transformed it into a video sharing platform popular with users particularly in rural China. The app is used.
Kuaishou’s revenues grew from $1.3 billion in 2017 to $6.2 billion in the nine months ending 30 September 2020 but it still reported a loss of $1.1bn.
Kuaishou’s blockbuster IPO could set the stage for Bytedance, which is estimated to valued at $180bn as per latest round of private funding, to go public by listing in Hong Kong stock exchange later this year.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.
Latest
