Hong Kong, China:
Video streaming internet site Bilibili sank on its initially day trading on Hong Kong’s stock exchange on Monday as investors fret more than a international sell-off in Chinese tech shares.
Bilibili’s opening value fell just more than 6 % in early trade following the firm raised about $2.6 billion in a secondary listing on Hong Kong’s bourse.
Over the previous 18 months Hong Kong has noticed a flurry of Chinese tech firms hold initial public offerings in the city, element of a drive to list closer to residence as relations in between Beijing and Washington sour.
Last year Hong Kong raked in an impressive $49 billion in IPOs with hugely well-known second listings by the likes of JD.com and NetEase.
The Chinese tech homecomings have continued into 2021 but with much less investor enthusiasm.
A Hong Kong debut by Chinese search engine Baidu final week raised $3.1 billion via its IPO but its shares completed flat on the opening day and have because sunk some 15 %.
US-China tensions stay at the forefront of investor jitters.
Last week American regulators announced plans to force Chinese firms to adhere more strictly to its auditing guidelines, sparking issues more than prospective delistings in the US and a international sell-off in Chinese tech shares.
Bilibili is currently listed in New York.
It is a rapid expanding video streaming internet site with about 200 million largely young Chinese customers.
Often dubbed “China’s YouTube”, it makes it possible for customers to upload and share videos with voiceovers and music added and hosts a considerable quantity of user generated content.
Founded in 2009 by a then 20-year-old college student Xu Yi, it started mainly as a spot for fans of gaming and anime to collect and share content but has because spread amongst Gen Z Chinese customers.
Bilibili chief executive Chen Rui played down quick term market place value drops, billing his business as a web site primed to tap into China’s almost one billion web customers.
“We wouldn’t care too much about short-term performance in the stock market,” the 43-year-old billionaire told Bloomberg Television in what the network stated was his initially interview with international media.
“Nobody will remember whether your stock went up or down on the debut in 10 years’ time.”
Chen has been noticed as the true driver of Bilibili’s good results in current years, persuading Chinese tech rivals Tencent and Alibaba to come on board as early investors as effectively as Sony.
Videos “will be a major trend for the internet industry over the next three to five years,” Chen told Bloomberg.
“The market will be in ultra-high-speed growth for the next several years. Popular video platforms, like us, will all have great opportunities.”
()