MARIO HO has become the youngest founder of a Nasdaq-listed company in Asia, now that the 29-year-old’s esports company NIP Group has started trading in the United States. NIP is also the first U.S.-listed Chinese company in the e-sports industry.

Ho, the youngest son of the late casino tycoon Stanley Ho, said going public in the U.S. was “a dream come true” for him. He described NIP as “ready to leave a significant mark on the global gaming industry.”

NIP went public on the Nasdaq on Friday. It raised US$20.3 million from the issuance of 2.25 million American depository shares at a price of US$9 apiece. The stock [NASDAQ: NIPG] closed at US$9.02 on its first trading day, giving it a market value of about US$506 million, yicai.com reported.

The proceeds will be used for potential strategic acquisitions and investment opportunities, marketing purposes, and to expand the presence of its e-sports team, talent management, and event production capabilities, according to NIP’s listing prospectus.

Ho acquired Chinese e-sports club eStar in 2020 and Swedish peer Ninjas in Pyjamas last year. He then merged them to form NIP together with his partner Hicham Chahine.

Ho is NIP’s chairman and co-chief executive officer, a position he shares with Chahine. According to the listing prospectus, Ho is the company’s largest shareholder, with a 13.6% stake, followed by Chahine at 11.9%.

NIP’s net loss more than doubled to US$13.3 million last year from a year earlier, mainly because of rising operational costs of the e-sports club and increasing marketing expenses, the prospectus showed. Revenue soared 27% to US$83.7 million in the period.

The e-sports industry does not yet have a clear profit model, according to game industry analyst Zhang Shule. In terms of revenue sharing from events, e-sports clubs cannot compete with upstream game publishers and organizers, Zhang noted, adding that they can only expand their revenues through downstream derivative industries, such as merchandise and e-sports-themed hotels.

On July 23, the International Olympic Committee announced during its 142nd session in Paris that Saudi Arabia will hold the inaugural Olympic E-sports Games next year. The first Electronic Sports World Cup is taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Revenue of China’s e-sports industry rose 4.4% to 12 billion yuan (US$ 1.7 billion) last year from the year before, reversing a two-year decline, according to a report released by the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association on Friday. The number of e-sports users inched up 0.5% to 490 million.

U.S.-based consulting firm Frost & Sullivan estimated that the market size of the global e-sports industry was expected to reach US$102.4 billion in 2027, up from US$57.9 billion in 2022.

Ho’s billionaire businessman father, Stanley Ho, founded SJM Holdings and held a monopoly on gaming in Macao for 40 years. The elder Ho fathered 17 children.(SD-Agencies)