Bank of America Corp.

(Bloomberg) -- Kuaishou Technology, the operator of China’s most popular video service after ByteDance Ltd.’s Douyin, is seeking to raise as much as $5.4 billion in the world’s biggest internet initial public offering since Uber Technologies Inc.The short video startup, backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd., is selling 365 million shares at HK$105 to HK$115 each, according to terms of the deal obtained by Bloomberg News. The company will start taking investor orders from Monday through Jan. 29 and is slated to list on Feb. 5 in Hong Kong.Kuaishou is attempting the world’s biggest internet IPO since Uber’s $8.1 billion U.S. share sale in May 2019, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Chinese startup’s IPO will also give another boost to Hong Kong’s already-hot capital market and could become Asia’s largest since Budweiser Brewing Co. APAC Ltd.’s $5.8 billion float almost two years ago.Kuaishou, which means “fast hand,” is one of China’s biggest internet success stories of the past decade, part of a generation of startups that thrived with backing from Tencent. Along with TikTok parent ByteDance, the outfit co-created by Su Hua in 2013 pioneered the live streaming and bite-sized video format that’s since been adopted around the world by the likes of Facebook Inc. Kuaishou’s imminent debut could test investor appetite for its far larger rival, which was last valued at $180 billion.Tencent and IPO advisor China Renaissance Holdings Ltd. surged in Hong Kong, suggesting enthusiasm for its upcoming debut. On Monday, Kuaishou executives revealed monthly active users on its main app had reached 481.4 million while average daily time spent had crossed the 100-minute mark in 2021. Co-founder Su emphasized his company was pursuing future growth by applying its popular video formats to a range of online services like shopping.“We are exploring live-streaming in local life services and knowledge sharing,” the 38-year-old former Google engineer told investors on a conference call. “We’ll also try to use short videos and live-streaming, both based on the fan-host relationship, to transform one industry after another. That’s a driving force for our future growth.”Read more: ByteDance Seeks Funds at $180 Billion Value Before IPO of AssetsThe offering of Kuaishou has attracted 10 cornerstone investors, who agreed to subscribe for $2.45 billion of stock, based on the mid-point of the marketed range. The lineup includes The Capital Group, Temasek Holdings Pte, GIC Pte, BlackRock Inc. and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the terms show, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. The cornerstone investors have agreed to hold stock for six months in exchange for early, guaranteed allocation.The valuation of Kuaishou could more than double after its Hong Kong IPO. A top-end pricing will value the Chinese firm at $60.9 billion, up from the $28.6 billion it achieved in a funding round last year, according to Pitchbook. Even at the low end of the range, Kuaishou will still be valued at $55.6 billion.ByteDance has long been a rumored IPO candidate but was bogged down last year in fighting a U.S. ban on TikTok after the video service was labeled a national security threat. The social media giant was in discussions to raise $2 billion before listing some of its businesses in Hong Kong, Bloomberg News reported in November.Kuaishou had about 262 million average daily active users as of September, according to its prospectus. That’s still less than half the 600 million on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. That said, Kuaishou’s revenues climbed 49% to 40.7 billion yuan ($6.3 billion) in the first nine months of last year, after it ratcheted up monetization efforts through advertising and e-commerce. While it offers free access to its main platform, the startup takes a cut of the tips users give to their favorite live-streamers who perform viral challenges, lip-synch to the latest pop songs and play video games.Tencent has about a 21.6% stake in Kuaishou, and other backers include venture capital firms DCM, DST Global and Sequoia Capital China, the prospectus shows. Shares in Tencent jumped 11% and closed at an all-time high on Monday in Hong Kong.Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Corp. and China Renaissance are joint sponsors of the deal.(Updates Tencent’s shares to closing level in 11th paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P. […]

Bank of America employees in Hong Kong and globally will see a little bit extra in their pay cheques after the American bank posted better-than-expected results in the fourth quarter despite the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.Employees who make US$100,000 or less annually will receive a cash bonus of US$750, with overseas employees receiving the cash payments in March, according to an internal memorandum seen by the Post.Bank of America employees who earn more than US$100,000 to US$500,000 in total compensation will receive 150 to 750 restricted stock units, the memo said. The awards will have a grant date of March 1 and be paid out over a four-year period beginning in 2022.Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China."Your work has spanned from helping families and small businesses access critical financial relief when they needed it the most, to proactively reaching out and providing financial advice, guidance and services - what we do best - to individual, business and institutional clients during some of the most volatile times in the global markets," Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said in the memo.The awards are on top of regular annual incentives paid out to eligible employees, with about 97 per cent of the staff receiving cash or restricted share units.It follows moves by the bank to increase compensation for its lowest paid employees in the US to a minimum of US$20 an hour last year and to provide additional reimbursements for child and elder care expenses during the pandemic.The bonuses come as banks are struggling with how to balance compensation, as parts of their businesses, such as trading and underwriting flourished last year, while the overall operating environment proved difficult because of a combination of historically low interest rates and slower growth because of the pandemic.Morgan Stanley, for example, said in December it would give US$1,000 to employees who make less than US$150,000 a year. The investment bank's profit jumped 51 per cent in the fourth quarter.This month, HSBC said it would cut year-end bonuses for junior staff by 22.5 per cent for 2020. The bank, which reports its full-year results in February, saw a 62 per cent decline in its profit in the first nine months of 2020, including recording US$7.6 billion in so-called expected credit losses because of weakening business activity.Banks' overall compensation - bonuses for the full year 2020 and this year's pay - is expected to stay flat, with more-muted-than-normal increases for business lines that performed exceptionally well last year, such as trading.Bank of America itself reported a 22 per cent decline in fourth-quarter profit to US$5.47 billion as lower interest rates weighed on results in its consumer banking and wealth and investment management businesses.This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2021 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2021. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. […]

The bank is sitting on a ton of excess capital, is not constrained by its regulatory requirements, and has little else to do with it. […]

Yahoo Finance’s Alexis Christoforous and Octavio Marenzi, Opimas CEO, discuss bank earnings as the coronavirus pandemic drags on.  […]

Recipients spent the money from the $900-billion Covid-19 program, especially low-income households making less than $50,000. […]