Tiktok rival Kuaishou raises $5.32 billion in world's biggest IPO since 2019

The Tencent-backed Kuaishou's stock closed at $38.70 apiece, marking a 161 percent jump over the $14.80 the firm issued them at, raising $5.32 billion in the offing--the biggest IPO since the pandemic began.

If the company exercises an over-allotment option, the total raised could hit almost $6.1 billion.

It's the largest public offering globally since Saudi Aramco's in December 2019, and the world's biggest tech listing since Uber's IPO in May 2019.

Kuaishou, one of China's leading social media firms with over 300 million daily active users, owns a short-video and live-streaming app.

Live-streaming transactions accounted for 84% of revenue in 2019.

According to David Chao, co-founder and general partner of Silicon Valley venture capital firm DCM, the company has tapped in on a new form of monetization by focusing early on live-streaming and virtual goods.

Kuaishou still faces significant challenges. It's long competed with industry leader ByteDance, which owns the Douyin app — the Chinese version of TikTok.

The listing also comes at a time when the tech sector is facing a regulatory clampdown in China.