[ET Net News Agency, 9 February 2017] Newswire reported that China Reading, Tencent's
(00700) online literature business, plans an IPO in HK this year, raising US$600-800m.
HSBC Global Research maintained its "buy" rating on Tencent, with a target price of
HK$245. The research house believes a number of digital assets have not yet been well
monetised.
It noted that China Reading monetises its library via a monthly subscription payment of
RMB10-12 and a usage fee of RMB0.01-0.05 per 1,000 words. Subscriptions account for 60% of
revenue, while licensing revenue accounts for 10%, according to Forbes (11 January 2017).
China Reading is the largest Internet publisher in China, with 10m e-books (over 90%
market share), 4m writers and 600m registered users on its platforms. China Reading
reported RMB2bn in revenue in 2014. (KL)