Online entertainment more than a booming industry

China's digital entertainment firms, from game streaming to comics, radio and literature platforms, have posted strong growth and new investment as users spend more time and money at home during the epidemic.

Comic platform Kuaikan has announced a new round of financing of US$240 million, with investors including CCB International, One Store and Tencent.

The company will invest 1 billion yuan (US$156.3 million) within three years to support comic authors and expand product lines overseas.

"'Made in China' comics represent the country's culture and readers' confidence," said Chen Anni, founder and CEO of Kuaikan, who plans to promote Chinese comics globally.

Ximalaya, a Shanghai-based online radio platform, offers over 2 billion minutes of online programming for 250 million active monthly users.

It covers a wide range of users, from students to white-collar workers, to parents and the elderly.

China is supporting and pushing the development of the digital economy through a range of innovations such as 5G, cloud, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.

Huya, a broadcasting platform with more than 77.6 million active users monthly, posted net profit of 250 million yuan in the second quarter – its 15th straight quarter of profit.

The New York-listed company will continue investing in content and technologies to consolidate its leading position in the game streaming sector.

During the ChinaJoy game expo in Shanghai, Huya displayed its latest technologies such as artificial intelligence-powered optimization for streaming, cloud gaming platforms and other innovations.

China Literature, the country's biggest digital reading platform, posted revenue of 4.3 billion yuan in the first half of the year – up 33.2 percent year on year.

The Shanghai-based firm posted a net profit of 1.08 billion yuan, compared with a loss of 3.29 billion yuan a year ago.

Last year, Shanghai's online literature revenue growth was 37.5 percent, outstripping the city's GDP growth.

Shanghai leads the nation in online literature, according to the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.