Tencent execs join online reading platform in management reshuffle

Shares of Hong Kong-listed China Literature surged 14.4 percent on Tuesday after the online reading platform announced a management reshuffle to introduce new leaders from Tencent, as well as deeper integration with the Internet giant.

Current leaders, including Wu Wenhui and Liang Xiaodong as co-chief executive officers, have resigned. Cheng Wu, currently vice president of Tencent and chief executive officer of Tencent Pictures, has been appointed as new CEO of the China Literature, the Shanghai-based firm said in a statement.

The management shake-up leads Tencent-backed China Literature toward a new stage of development through deeper cooperation with Tencent and other industry partners, the company said.

Shares of China Literature surged 14.4 percent on Tuesday to close at HK$36.55 (US$4.69), with an intraday high at HK$38.

China Literature is a leading digital reading platform and literary content incubator with 8.1 million writers, 12.2 million literary works and hundreds of millions of readers. The managers at Tencent will help it improve the platform's content ecosystem through the integration of online literature and TV, movies, animation and games.

The value of China’s online reading market had grown to 28.88 billion yuan (US$4.13 billion) by 2019, marking year-on-year growth of 13.5 percent, according to a recent report by the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association.