Shares is social media app Kuaishou leapt in value by almost 200% on Friday after trading in them opened on Hong Kong’s stock exchange. Like its rival TikTok, Kuaishou operates in the short-form video app arena but is also popular for its live streaming capabilities and claims to have 305 million daily active users whom it says spend an average of 86 minutes each day on its app.
Originally conceived as a mobile app for GIF animations, Kuaishou is particularly popular in China’s second and third tier cities, and in rural communities where it is often used for group chats and messaging, as well as for videos. Its founders are emphasising this as the differentiator between their brainchild and TikTok, which is perceive to appeals mainly to urban millennials.
Although Kuaishou’s revenues have grown from $1.3bn in 2017 to $6.2bn at the end of last September, it also reported a $.1.1bn loss over the same period.