Record internet IPOs due in 2017, says report
A record number of internet companies are expected to go public in 2017, according to a report released on Thursday by internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd’s research affiliate.
The report — the 2016 Internet Entrepreneurship and Innovation White Papar — released by Tencent Research Institute, said that since 2000, China has seen a peak in the number of initial public offerings by internet companies almost every three years.
As many as 22 internet companies went public in 2014.
But Tencent predicts that 2017 will set a new record in internet IPOs. It added that venture capital exits from the IPOs would in turn boost the development of innovation and entrepreneurship in China to a new level.
Setting up an internet business requires a lot from entrepreneurs, said Tencent’s Chief Operating Officer Ren Yuxin, speaking at the annual Tencent Global Partner Conference where the report was released.
“Not only do they need to have a deep understanding in business and service, but also have a strong technology team,” he said. He added that was why five years ago Tencent opened its own platforms and shared its capabilities in technologies with others, to help lower the threshold for internet entrepreneurs.
Statistics from Tencent showed that it attracted nearly 6 million developers between 2011 and June 2016 onto its open platforms, developing applications for smartphone users and personal computer users.
The Shenzhen-based company said its open platforms had facilitated 30 companies going public and created 16 billion yuan ($2.4 billion) in revenue for its partners over the past five years.
Ren said that, with the concept of “internet plus” penetrating more traditional industries, Tencent is gearing up to empower more entrepreneurs, not limited to those in the internet sector.
“We’ve already set up 18 incubators across China to help turn ideas into real business. Another 12 incubators are on their way.
In the future, Tencent plans to roll out incubators in countries outside China, such as the United States, South Korea, Singapore and Israel,” he said.
Tencent’s strategy is in line with China’s rising wave of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Premier Li Keqiang highlighted entrepreneurship and innovation as the new engines to spur economic growth in the Government Work Report in 2015.
The government has since unveiled dozens of measures to support grassroots entrepreneurs, including offering them tax breaks and helping them in funding their businesses.