Kuaishou is headquartered pictured on November 5, 2020 in Beijing, China.
VCG | China Vision Group Getty Images
GUANGZHOU, China – Shares of Chinese short video company Kuaishou rose nearly 200% at the opening of their debut in Hong Kong.
The technology company raised $ 41.28 billion Hong Kong ($ 5.32 billion) from initial public offering (IPO) after pricing its shares at $ 115 Hong Kong each, at the top of the expected range .
Kuaishou shares opened at 338 Hong Kong dollars.
A short business app is the company’s core business and it makes money from consumers who buy virtual gifts to give to their favorite streamers. Kuaishou is also pushing into new areas such as e-commerce.
Kuaishou said his IPO was full of high demand. If the so-called integrity option is used, which allows the investment bank to issue more shares, Kuaishou could raise more than $ 6 billion.
Ten cornerstone investors led by Capital Group and including BlackRock and Fidelity invested in the IPO.
Listing Kuaishou will be a test of desire for Chinese technology companies just as Beijing examines the sector in areas ranging from anti-monopoly to data protection. In November, the Chinese government introduced rules on live streaming shops, which could affect Kuaishou.
The IPO is also another boon for the Hong Kong stock exchange that has attracted high-tech tech companies and high-end listings. Chinese companies registered in the US including Alibaba and JD.com have raised funds in Hong Kong. CNBC reported that the Chinese video company on the Nasdaq Bilibili list has also filed for high school listing in Hong Kong.
Kuaishou in China has strong competition from competitors such as Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok owned by ByteDance, as well as Tencent’s WeChat messaging app.