Tencent-backed online literature firm China Literature (HKG: 0772) announced Monday a transition in leadership, in which Cheng Wu, Tencent’s vice president and Tencent Pictures’ CEO will serve as new CEO, replacing former leader Wu Wenhui, in a move to increase the partnership over content between the two firms.
Hou Xiaonan, Tencent Platform and Content Group (PCG)’s vice president, will serve as China Literature’s president, said the firm, which also saw other founding members quit, including co-CEO Liang Xiaodong, president Shang Xuesong, and senior vice president Lin Tingfeng.
Following the announcement, China Literature’s stock price went up 12.05% to HKD 35.8 (USD 4.62).
Tencent (HKG: 0700) is already China Literature’s largest shareholder, with a 56% stock in the company, which was founded in 2015 and went public in Hong Kong in November 2017.
China Literature says it has reached over 8.1 million writers and 219.7 million monthly active users (MUAs) in 2019 on its ecosystem of products including online novel platform and community Qidian, mobile content aggregation and distribution platform QQ Reading, female-oriented novel website Xiaoxiang, and romantic fiction site Hongxiu.
The firm’s total revenues increased by 65.7% year-on-year to USD 1.2 billion last year, driven by paid subscriptions and its intellectual property adaptation businesses.
This article is part of KrASIA’s “China Brief” section, where KrASIA’s reporters will provide quick daily updates about the tech ecosystem in China.
