KUALA LUMPUR: NovelPlus Technology Bhd (NTB), an online social reading and writing platform developer and operator listed on the LEAP Market of Bursa Securities Malaysia Bhd today at RM0.25 per share, above the offer price of RM0.15 per share.
The group has an e-book library comprising over 37,000 published novels in Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia with an ecosystem comprising over 2.1 million users, of which approximately 10,000 are registered as writers with the rest being readers.
“NovelPlus continues to innovate and evolve for the needs of our users,” NTB CEO Crystal Lai (pictured above) said in a statement.
This is the beginning of an evolution for NovelPlus and we will continue to make improvements that mirror our users’ needs.”
She said the group is now in a better position to focus on new business expansion and pursue future growth opportunities after the successful listing.
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.
The NovelPlus platform allows readers to 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 serialised novels, build readerships and receive reviews and tokens of appreciation from readers.
Advertisers can also advertise on the mobile application and web browser, with advertisements targeted towards users who are not subscribers.
The group’s plans to expand the content of its library to include e-books published in both Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia as well as other languages from Southeast Asia, where e-books have seen healthy growth from US$308 million (RM1.3 billion) in 2016 to US$382.9 million (RM1.6 billion) in 2019, which is a compound annual growth rate of 7.5 per cent.
Moving forward, the e-book market size is expected to projected to grow further to another 6.4 per cent, to reach US$461 million (RM1.9 billion) from now till next year.
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