G-bits Network Technology, a Chinese online-games developer, is proposing a record dividend for shareholders since it became a public company, following a stock slide due to an unprecedented crackdown on the video games industry in the country. The firm announced a 16 yuan (US$2.50) per share payout in an exchange filing on Friday, the most generous amount since the firm was listed on the Shanghai bourse in 2017. That would translate into a 1.15 billion yuan (US$180.6 million) payout based on its existing capital base. The payout comes as authorities in Beijing have clamped down on the video gaming industry by withholding approvals for new game titles since end-July last year, while also forcing the industry to slash playing time for children. The latest payout offers investors a 4.4 per cent yield, based on its closing price of 364.70 yuan on Friday. Last year’s dividend of 12 yuan amounted to a 2.9 per cent yield, based on the stock’s average price of 407.42 yuan in 2021. Kweichow Moutai, the country’s most valuable company, also paid a record 21.68 yuan for 2021, though it works out to about 1.2 per cent yield based on its share price of 1,784 yuan. G-bits shares have tumbled 30 per cent since the government froze game approvals last July, matching the slide in market leader Tencent Holdings, according to Bloomberg data. The Shanghai Composite Index declined 9.1 per cent over the same period. Before the crackdown, G-bits surged 187 per cent in the two years through to end-2020. Tencent to close video game streaming unit in the wake of failed Douyu, Huya merger The game developer, founded in 2004 in the city of Xiamen in south-eastern Fujian province, develops multiplayer online games, with hits including Wen Dao , which ranks in the top 30 downloads in the local Appstore. Revenue jumped 68 per cent in 2021 to 4.62 billion yuan, while earnings surged 40 per cent to 1.47 billion yuan. Tencent last month proposed to pay HK$1.60 per share in an annual dividend, after handing out a substantial US$16 billion via a special dividend, in the form of shares in JD.com in January. Other rivals have been more conservative though. NetEase announced in February a dividend of 8.1 US cents per share. Hong Kong-listed IGG Inc. scrapped dividends after posting a 78 per cent slump in earnings for the past year.