Chinese Startup DouYu Delays U.S. IPO Launch on Trade Jitters

(Bloomberg) -- DouYu International Holdings Ltd., a Chinese video-game live-streaming platform, is delaying the launch of its U.S. initial public offering following market jitters over President Donald Trump’s threat to boost tariffs on China, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The company, which initially planned to start its IPO roadshow Monday U.S. time, is considering postponing the launch by at least a week, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. DouYu, backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd., had been aiming to seek about $500 million, one of the people said.

DouYu, which is planning a share sale after rival Huya Inc. nearly doubled in value since its debut last year, initially targeted to start trading May 16, according to the people. The Wuhan-based company will continue to monitor the market to find an appropriate window to launch the deal and hasn’t set a new timeline yet, the people said.

The delay came as global markets tumbled after Trump tweeted that the U.S. would increase tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports, ahead of a scheduled trade talk in Washington this week. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said Monday that officials were still preparing to travel to the U.S., without commenting on when the potential meeting would take place.

DouYu will continue to work toward the objective of completing its IPO as outlined in its public filings, the company said in a statement in response to Bloomberg queries, declining to comment further.

To contact the reporters on this story: Crystal Tse in Hong Kong at ctse44@bloomberg.net;Lulu Yilun Chen in Hong Kong at ychen447@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fion Li at fli59@bloomberg.net, ;Peter Elstrom at pelstrom@bloomberg.net, Ben Scent

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