Dozens of new mobile and online games are allowed to be launched in China. Chinese regulators have approved 60 new titles, and investors on the Hong Kong stock exchange reacted enthusiastically.
Last year, China chose to rigorously combat game addiction, so that hardly any new games could be released.
Connoisseurs see the new licenses as a step by the Chinese authorities toward normalizing their policy toward games. In April, only 45 games were approved.
In response to the news, a special technology index on the Hong Kong stock exchange rocketed to more than 4 percent throughout the trading session on Wednesday, as e-commerce giant Alibaba and video streaming company Bilibili gained nearly 10 percent in market cap. The main indicator in Hong Kong was 1.9 percent higher in the meantime.
The list of approved games includes titles from established studios such as Perfect World, Shengqu Games, MiHoYo and Changyou. No new games have yet been approved by the large internet companies Netease and Tencent, but the stock market seems to assume that it will not be long before they can also release new games. Shares of NetEase and Tencent rose to more than 5 percent.
The picture was mixed on other Asian stock markets on Wednesday. The gauge remained fairly flat in Seoul, with minor downsides in Shanghai and Shenzhen, while Japan’s leading Nikkei index traded 1 percent higher. New data confirmed that the Japanese economy contracted in the first three months of the year. However, the economic downturn was somewhat less severe than previously estimated.
