Streaming silver now, not gold

Despite the market of smartphone apps sizzling with live streams, there is still sometime to go before you could label it a gold mine - that is the consensus among leading industry players.

Fu Zhengjun, chief executive officer of Hong Kong-listed Tian Ge Interactive Holdings Limited, one of the two listed live streaming companies in China, said he values the market between 10 billion yuan ($1.49 billion) and 20 billion yuan. "It is more of a silver mine or perhaps a bronze mine rather than a gold mine."

Fu's view finds echo in Lin Yanting, chief executive of Beijing-based vhall.com, one of the major live streaming platforms in China. Vhall provides its services to users who hook up online for training, conferencing and such events.