Video streaming provider Leshi, once touted as a Chinese tech titan, edges closer to delisting after reporting huge losses for third straight year
- The company founded by embattled entrepreneur Jia Yueting said its loss for last year widened to 11.3 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion) from 4.1 billion yuan in 2018
- The ‘sorry saga’ is a stark reminder that China is a long way from producing the next Apple or Microsoft, says He Yan of Shanghai Shiva Investment
Leshi Internet Information and Technology, once seen as a potential Chinese technology titan, is well on its way to being expelled from the stock market after reporting huge losses for a third consecutive year.
The video streaming service provider founded by embattled Chinese entrepreneur Jia Yueting said on Thursday that its loss for last year widened to 11.3 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion) from 4.1 billion yuan in 2018. Revenue slumped 69 per cent to 490 million yuan.
“It is edging closer towards a delisting and collapse,” said He Yan, a hedge fund manager with Shanghai Shiva Investment. “The sorry saga is a rude reminder to Chinese stock investors that it will still be a long journey for the country’s stock market to find its own Apple or Microsoft.”
Leshi made its trading debut on the ChiNext, a technology board for Chinese start-ups on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, in 2010.
It was once the most expensive stock on the market with capitalisation hitting 170 billion yuan in 2015.
But its debts have mounted since 2017 amid Jia’s ambitious expansion efforts.
In 2017, the company posted its first annual loss, of 11.6 billion yuan.
The company’s listing status was suspended in May 2019 after it booked negative assets of 3 billion yuan for the previous year.
