By SHE Xiaochen

Bilibili CEO CHEN Rui blamed a sudden drop in US-listed Chinese stocks for the company’s disappointing March 29 debut on HKEX. The video streaming site lost one percent during a US$2.6 billion (17 billion yuan) secondary offering in Hong Kong, having listed on Nasdaq three years ago.

“In ten years, nobody will care if Bilibili rose or fell on its first trading day,” Chen said on Monday after the company rang the gong. “But when they talk about Bilibili, they will be talking about a good company.”

The video platform started 11 years ago with animations is now the go-to place for young Chinese seeking frivolous entertainment online. Bilibili has 200 million MAU, more than 85 percent of whom are under 35.

From 2018 to 2020, Alipay, Tencent and Sony invested heavily in Bilibili. Gross revenue in 2020 hit 12 billion yuan (US$1.82 billion), a 77 percent increase. Meanwhile, last year’s net loss of 305 million yuan was twice as much as in 2019.

The company priced its shares at HK$808 (US$104, 680 yuan) last week, much higher than Baidu’s secondary offering in Hong Kong weeks ago (HK$252).

Before listing on the Nasdaq, games contributed over 80 percent of revenue, now games cover only 40 percent.

“Our gaming market has not declined,” said Chen. “We have grown strongly in other areas.”

Funds raised in the secondary offering will be used for better content creation.