Kuaishou aims at live streaming success overseas
China’s second-largest short video platform turns to Middle East and Brazil
Kuaishou Technology, China’s second-largest short video and live streaming platform operator, is hoping to replicate its winning strategy at home in overseas markets given the big opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Brazil.
The company plans to set up offices in Saudi Arabia soon, chief financial officer Jin Bing said.
“There’s a great opportunity in MENA and Brazil: they have large populations, decent purchasing power and they are receptive to new business, ideas and models,” he said at a forum in Hong Kong this week. “There are similarities between China and these markets. People love to watch good quality content, engage with each other, and purchase products or services online.”
Beijing-based Kuaishou is looking into emerging markets while ByteDance-owned TikTok, the industry leader, struggles to fend off regulatory attacks in the US and heightened scrutiny in other Western markets.
The Middle East and Brazil have a large population with strong purchasing power and are not dominated by TikTok, according to Kuaishou.
In the medium to long term, Kuaishou will incorporate more advertising and e-commerce elements into the mix in these overseas markets, Jin said. He was speaking at the Saudi Tadawul Group’s Capital Markets Forum in Hong Kong on Thursday, which brought 650 delegates to the city.
“China is more advanced because e-commerce has been developed here for 25 years,” Jin said. “The payment channel is way more efficient, the logistics are way more efficient, and e-commerce overseas will take some time to catch up.”
Brazil is more about monetising through advertising, while in the Middle East there is more demand for live streaming where users can send “tips” to their favourite creators. The Middle East market enjoys song, dance and short-talk videos, Jin added.
Kuaishou has 379.9 million daily active users on its app, according to 2023 figures, versus 355.7 million in 2022. Its average monthly active users stood at 678.2 million in 2023, versus 612.7 million in 2022.
Kwai, the international version of the Kuaishou app, boasts more than 20 million average monthly active users in MENA alone, and more than 20 million monthly short video uploads.
Jin said Kuaishou was not ignoring the growth potential in China’s market. The tech sector is currently buffeted by headwinds amid heightened regulatory scrutiny on data and national security issues.
“Previously, there were abundant consumption needs in China, but very limited supplies,” he said. “Today the complete opposite is abundant supply and limited consumption. The number one priority for our China market right now is e-commerce, because the ceiling of live e-commerce is still far away.”
China’s technology giants have been accelerating efforts to improve and put to use their large language models, the technology underpinning a new generation of artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
There are still opportunities to develop in-house AI capabilities, Jin said. The main use cases for AI include content creation for businesses needing advertisements, AI-empowered assistants in search engines, and real-time feedback on adverts to analyse investment return.
“AI will allow workforces to focus on high-value areas,” Jin said. “The beauty of AI is that it will release manpower from some of the redundant, repetitive work or low-value work.”