China Literature share price surges in HK debut

China Literature Ltd, the country's biggest online reading firm, surged above 86 percent on its first trading day on the Hong Kong stock market today.

The surge in its share price represented strong demand for online reading and opportunities to integrate online literature and game, film and e-sport, industry insiders said.

Tencent-backed China Literature closed at HK$102.40 (US$13), almost double its initial public offering price of HK$55. The closing price was the best first-day performance by any IPO that raised US$500 million or more in 2017, according to Bloomberg News.

“China Literature has stepped into the international capital market and embarks on a new journey as a listed company,” Wu Wenhui, the company’s co-chief executive, said in a statement. “It revealed the confidence of investors in the growth of the online literature industry in China."

By June 30, China Literature had 6.4 million writers and 9.6 million online literary works, and boasted 191.8 million monthly active users.

China’s online literature market revenue jumped 44 percent annually on average between 2013 and 2016. In 2016, the revenue hit 4.6 billion yuan, accounting for 11.4 percent of the total literature market, according to industry figures.