(Yicai Global) Aug. 20 -- Chinese mobile news app Qutoutiao has submitted its application for an initial public offering to list on NASDAQ under the stock code QTT.

The company is expected to reap up to USD300 million. Citigroup and Deutsche Bank are the underwriters for its IPO.

 Founded in 2016, Qutoutiao is a news app oriented to third-tier city residents. Its monthly active users are around 50 million, each of whom spends 56 minutes on this app each day on average, per public materials.

 Despite its large user basis, this company is still running in the red, sustaining CNY95 million (USD14.3 million) net losses last year, and CNY11 million in 2016. Its net losses in the first half were CNY514 million (USD77.7 million), which suggests these are gradually gathering pace.

 The company sets 'improving profitability' as a key strategy in its prospectus. Its current revenue mainly comes from advertising, and it plans to introduce more content to expand its user base, with literature, casual games and livestreaming being added.

 Qutoutiao's website shows the company focuses on 'light reading,' namely it regards entertainment and life news as its main content. It added around 6 million items of content, including around 3 million videos in June. Most of its data flows are devoted to entertainment, humor, relationships and health.

Editor: Ben Armour