Leshi updates icon, lists its debt value
MAJOR Chinese tech firms, like Kuaishou, Douyin and Pinduoduo, have been marking campaign budgets directly on their latest updated application icons, as a marketing ploy for the Chinese New Year.
Leshi Video app, in contrast, has marked its debt of 12.2 billion yuan (US$1.87 billion) in its latest app icon. No one is surprised that Leshi has heavy debt but it’s still the first time that an app icon has displayed heavy and clear debt value.
This has triggered a hot debate online, making Leshi Video a popular topic on Chinese social networks.
The comments include: “I don’t know if it’s still in operation,” “It’s interesting,” and “It should be ashamed of that.”
Leshi was heavily in debt and collapsed after a rapid expansion into smartphone, TV, online video, music, sports and new-energy car design to create an “ecosystem.” As a flagship company listed on the Growth Enterprise Market with a peak market value of over 170 billion yuan, Leshi was delisted by the market last year.
Meanwhile, major tech firms have put campaign values on their app icons, totalling over 9.1 billion yuan.
Douyin, Kuaishou, Baidu and Pinduoduo all launched digital “red envelope” activities to invite users to attend the New Year campaigns and share the money. The amounts include Douyin’s 2 billion yuan, Kuaishou’s 2.1 billion yuan, Baidu’s 2.2 billion yuan and Pinduoduo’s 2.8 billion yuan.
But their combined value can’t cover Leshi Video’s debt, according to netizens.