Appoints Mr. Hou Xiaonan as Chief Executive Officer
HONG KONG, May 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- China Literature Limited ("China Literature" or "the Company", stock code: 0772), a leading online literature and intellectual property ("IP") incubation platform in China, today announced that Mr. Cheng Wu has resigned from his positions as the Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") and the Executive Director of the Company due to the change of his personal life plan. Meanwhile, Mr. Hou Xiaonan, the President of the Company, has been appointed by the Board as the CEO, leading the Company's business operation and development, as well as the continued collaboration with business partners, including Tencent, across the industry.
Mr. Cheng Wu and Mr. Hou Xiaonan joined China Literature in April 2020 as the CEO and the President, respectively. Since then, they have led a series of initiatives to upgrade China Literature's content, platform and organization, and crystalized the Company's vision and mission under the new "China Literature Plus" strategy, setting the path for the Company's future growth. As a result, China Literature's online reading ecosystem has experienced material improvement, benefiting from its focus on high-quality content and effective anti-piracy measures. The Company has also made major breakthroughs in its IP operation businesses, by reinforcing its collaboration with upstream and downstream partners to promote the adaptation of numerous premium online literature works into other media formats including comics, animation, film, TV and web series, and games. Notable adapted IPs include Joy of Life (庆余年), My Heroic Husband (赘婿), Battle Through the Heavens (斗破苍穹) and Soul Land (斗罗大陆).
Mr. James Mitchell, the Chairman of China Literature, commented, "On behalf of the Board of Directors, I sincerely thank Cheng Wu for his substantial contributions to the Company during his time as its CEO. Under the management's leadership, the Company has evolved into a platform that rewards writers' creativity, stimulates users' enthusiasm, and thus serves as one of China's major sources of original IPs. We look forward to Hou Xiaonan and the management team building a more vital online content ecosystem, deepening the Company's relationships with content creators and business partners, and driving the Company's business growth while enhancing its content quality."
Mr. Hou Xiaonan, the newly appointed CEO of China Literature, commented, "I would like to thank Mr. Cheng for his support and example, and thank the Board for its trust. Looking ahead, I would continue to trailblaze with my colleagues as the best is yet to come. This is the best time for our industry with unlimited possibilities. We have witnessed the release of a series of stimulus policies to develop the digital economy, promote the digitalization of culture products, and encourage the growth of private sectors as well as the internet industry, which translate into our conviction for future growth. We also witnessed the emerging of new strategic opportunities, driven by the continued innovation of digital economy and the digitalization of culture products, and recent technology breakthroughs which revolutionize the production process. In my new role, I, together with our team, look forward to collaborating with all the content creators, users, and partners to make further progress, to build a solid foundation for China Literature's success as a household name for the next 100 years, and help the rest of the world hear stories from China."
Mr. Hou Xiaonan has proposed three strategic targets for China Literature's future development. The first is to further strengthen the writer and content ecosystem. China Literature aims to set up an industry-wide collaboration for copyright protection. It will continue to support the growth of diversified online reading genres such as science fiction and realistic themes, to nurture newly emerging writers, and to explore more content distribution channels. The second target is to further improve the IP ecosystem and monetization capability. China Literature will establish a trusted long-term collaboration with strategic partners, to facilitate the adaptation of more IPs into visualized content including comics, animation, TV and web series, and film. It will also actively explore the opportunities for IP-related games and merchandise. The third target is to embrace technological innovation. China Literature will keep a close eye on cutting-edge technologies, including generative artificial intelligence, to improve the user experience and efficiency of IP adaptations.
Mr. Hou Xiaonan joined Tencent in 2003 and has held various management positions for Tencent businesses including Mobile QQ (移动QQ), Qzone (QQ空间), Tencent Open Platform (腾讯开放平台), YingYongBao (腾讯应用宝), Qingteng (青腾) and Penguin Media Content Platform (腾讯内容开放平台), acting as a core figure in Tencent's open ecosystem strategy. He has extensive and in-depth management experience in product operation, business model innovation, and ecosystem cooperation. Currently, Mr. Hou Xiaonan also serves as the Vice President of the Platform and Content Group of Tencent (腾讯平台与内容事业群) and the Head of Tencent Animation and Comics (腾讯动漫).
About China Literature Limited
China Literature is dedicated to building a deep and immersive intellectual property ("IP") universe for the Mandarin-speaking world. It incubates original IPs from its online literature platform, which are subsequently adapted on a range of digital entertainment mediums, including comics, animation, film, TV series, web series and games. The virtual world created by these digital offerings become an inseparable part of a user's daily life. China Literature creates and promotes IPs mainly through QQ Reading and Qidian Reading, its leading online literature platforms, as well as New Classics Media, a renowned film and TV drama series production house in China. China Literature collaborates with Tencent, its shareholder and strategic partner, as well as other third-party partners to distribute and develop IP content and to enhance value of its IP. Many of the Company's online literature works have been successfully adapted into animation, TV series, web series, film and games, including Joy of Life, Candle in the Tomb, Soul Land, The King's Avatar and My Heroic Husband. China Literature's rich and extensive content library as well as its unparalleled capability and resources to adapt IP into various entertainment formats is a significant competitive advantage that lies at the core of its business model. For more information, please visit http://ir.yuewen.com/.
Contact
For investors / analysts:
Maggie Zhou
Tel: +8621 6187 0500 ext. 80605
Email: IR@yuewen.com
For media:
Vivian Wang
Tel: +852 2232 3978
Email: vivian.wang@christensencomms.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to the industry and business outlook, forecast business plans and growth strategies of the Company. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the Company and are stated herein on the basis of the outlook at the time of this press release. They are based on certain expectations, assumptions and premises, some of which are subjective or beyond our control. These forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect and may not be realized in future. Underlying the forward-looking statements is a large number of risks and uncertainties. Further information regarding these risks and uncertainties is included in our other public disclosure documents on our corporate website.
