Chinese Tech Companies Line up for US IPOs in 2014

After a couple of years of downturn, China tech stocks performed pretty well in the US stock markets last year and six Chinese Internet companies IPOed in the US during the year — only two IPOs in the previous year.

Believing China shares have won back US investors’ hearts, a flock of Chinese tech companies are planning to IPO in the US as early as in the second quarter of this year. Online retailer JD.com has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Momo

Momo, launched in August 2011, was one of the first mobile apps in China enabling users to find and chat with people nearby. Now it’s just like most other mobile messaging apps in features and monetization approaches, offering mobile games, paid stickers, etc. The company announced 100 million registered accounts earlier this month, with 40 million monthly active users,  and was ranked No. 2 on the list of the top revenue-generating, non-game mobile apps of 2013 by App Annie — mobile gaming is a major revenue source for Momo though.

Now seems a good time for any mobile messaging apps. LINE’s monetization capabilities have blown the world away. The sky-high price Facebook paid for Whatsapp must be encouraging for similar services like Momo.

Momo is venture backed by big names such as e-commerce giant Alibaba, Digital Sky Technologies and Matrix Partners.

Xunlei

Xunlei, one of the most popular download and streaming services in China, once filled for IPO in the US in 2011 but decided to withdraw it later that year. It is said the suspension was due to video copyright issue and the poor performance of the stock markets. It is reported that Xunlei has resumed the plan and will possiblly IPO in the second quarter.

Xunlei has been one of the few Chinese Internet services that makes a majority of revenues through premium subscriptions, while most others find it harder to make money from users than from businesses. Its CEO believes premium subscription is the best business model for making money from users in China. Other revenue sources of the company include advertising, gaming, among others.

Investors in Xunlei include Qihoo 360 CEO Zhou Hongyi, Google China, IDG and a couple of others. A recent rumor says Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone and mobile service company, has invested USD25 million in Xunlei. Xiaomi has integrated Xunlei’s download and video streaming services into its set-top box, Xiaomi Box.

Sina Weibo

We have heard enough about Sina Weibo these years, the exciting and the increasingly boring. As its parent company Sina is publicly traded and Sina’s news portal business hasn’t grown that fast in the past years, it’s safe to say the interest in investing in Sina has been pretty much about Weibo.

We learned that Sina Weibo would launch IPO as early as in the coming May. But it doesn’t sound exciting to a lot of Chinese users who find them use Weibo less and less. It only sounds boring to me.

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Other Chinese tech companies rumored to be preparing for US IPOs include mobile gaming company Chukong, online cosmetics retailer Jumei, online video service iQiyi, online travel service Tuniu, etc.