Guangzhou social networking hub YY debuted on the NASDAQ last week.
Shares opened at $10.50 and rose 7.7% to $11.31 at the closing bell of the first day, in line with the lower end of company’s self valuation which pegged the shares between $10.50 and $12.50. After the first day of trading the firm sold 7.8m shares raising $81.9m.
YY launched in 2005 as a chat client and online gaming hub. The firm rapidly expanded to include social networking elements and a video sharing services which paid its users virtual currency, redeemable in cash, based on the number of views.
In 2008 Steamboat Ventures, the Walt Disney Corporatations’s investment vehicle for startups aquired a 12.5% stake in YY Inc. following a $5m round of financing.
Since then YY has launched a music streaming service in China and has begun limited trails for its social network in Brazil.
Speaking to reporters YY chief executive David Xueling Li said: “Being listed on Nasdaq will give us the branding that will help us go into broader markets.”
YY reported $50.8m (CNY 319.6m) in revenue for 2011 and according to regulatory filings made a net profit of $8.9m (CNY 55.9m) for the first 3 quarters of 2012.