China's TikTok Rival Kuaishou Files for Hong Kong IPO

Communication Author: Chendi Qian Editor: Luke Sheehan Nov 06, 2020 05:30 AM (GMT+8)

This second-largest short video app reached 776 million monthly active users and revenue increased 48% YoY in the first half of 2020.

Image credit: Tada Images/Shutterstock

On November 5, Kuaishou formally submitted an IPO application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which may make it the first short video app to go public there.

According to Kuaishou Technology Prospectus published by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, it achieved an operating income of CNY 25.3 billion (USD 3.83 billion) in the first half of 2020, a significant increase of 48% the same period last year. As of the end of June 2020, the average monthly active users of Kuaishou reached 776 million.

Livestreaming, online marketing services and others (including e-commerce, online games and other value-added services) constitute the primary revenue source for Kuaishou. While livestreaming revenue continued to grow, it accounted for a gradual decrease in the overall revenue, and income from online marketing services and other businesses grew.

This video-sharing app's e-commerce business has grown rapidly since 2018, and the GMV of the platform has increased from CNY 96.60 million (USD 14.62 million) in 2018 to CNY 109.60 billion (USD 16.59 billion) in the first half of 2020.

As of the IPO, Tencent held 21.567%, co-founder and CEO Su Hua held 12.648%, and founder and CPO Cheng Yixiao had 10.023%.