KUALA LUMPUR: NovelPlus Technology Bhd, an online social reading and writing platform developer and operator, made a strong debut on the LEAP Market on Thursday.
It opened at 25 sen, or 10 sen above its offer price of 15 sen.
At 9.38am, it was trading at 28 sen, up 13 sen. There were 55, 200 shares done at prices ranging from 23 sen to 28 sen.
According to its press statement, the group has an e-book library comprising over 37, 000 published novels in Bahasa Melayu and Bahasa Indonesia with an ecosystem comprising over 2.1 million users, of which about 10, 000 are registered as writers and the rest are readers.
The platform operates under the name NovelPlus, with the content being accessed through the group’s mobile application and web browser.
NovelPlus operates on a freemium model where readers can access the platform for free or pay a subscription fee to enjoy an advertisement-free reading experience.
Readers can browse and select e-books, personalise their experience and manage their profile as well as interact with writers registered on the platform.
For writers, the NovelPlus platform allows them to write, edit and self-publish their serialized novels, build readerships and receive reviews and tokens of appreciation from readers.
Advertisers can also place ads on the mobile application and web browser which are targeted towards users who are not subscribers.
Following its listing, NovelPlus CEO, Crystal Lai, said the group is now in a better position to focus on new business expansion and pursue opportunities.
“NovelPlus continues to innovate and evolve for the needs of our users. This is the beginning of an evolution for NovelPlus and we will continue to make improvements that mirror our users' needs, ” she said.
It plans to include other languages from Southeast Asia, where e-books have seen healthy growth from US$308.10mil (RM1.3bil) in 2016 to US$382.9mil (RM1.6bil) in 2019.
TA Securities Holdings Bhd is the approved adviser, placement agent and continuing adviser for the listing exercise.