(Yicai) Dec. 18 -- East Buy Holding's shares surged after the livestream e-commerce unit of China's New Oriental Education and Technology Group said popular host Dong Yuhui has returned and will be made a senior partner, leading to a bounce back in followers.

East Buy [HKG: 1797] finished 22 percent up at HKD32 (USD4.10) a share in Hong Kong today, after soaring by as much as 25.7 percent at one point. 

East Buy resumed livestream e-commerce broadcasts late yesterday, with Chairman Yu Minhong and Dong speaking about recent turmoil regarding the host's role in the company. Following the event, East Buy announced Dong's return and promotion to senior partner.

The ranks of East Buy's followers climbed to 28.6 million yesterday after plunging to 28.4 million on Dec. 16 from around 31.2 million on Dec. 9, according to figures from data agency Chanmama. By comparison, followers of Dong's account on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, reached 20.5 million. 

Dong puts a lot of energy and effort into East Buy and hopes it will prosper well, he said, adding that he does not want to see the platform, for which he has done so much, ruined.

East Buy had been trying to reduce its reliance on Dong, who used to be an English tutor but now markets a variety of goods online. The Beijing-based firm recently released a promotional video revealing that most of Dong's shows are not scripted by him but by copywriters. 

Fans were quick to react to the statement, believing that it aimed to deny Dong's contribution to East Buy. Fewer than 8.2 million viewers watched the platform's e-commerce live broadcast on Dec. 11, compared with 12.1 million to 16.9 million in the previous three days.

Dong said he did not want to be a seller of merchandise after years of experience as an English teacher, adding that he will do what he loves and likes, focusing more on promoting culture and tourism.

East Buy recognized Dong's contribution and did not mistreat him, former Chief Executive Sun Dongxu said in a livestream event on Dec. 12. Dong's annual remuneration was more than the tens of millions of Chinese yuan speculated about in reports circulating online, Sun added.

But Sun's words, intended to appease Dong's fans, backfired, with his attitude further enraging them. East Buy said on Dec. 16 that Chairman Yu would step in as CEO, citing a board-level decision, with Sun relieved of his positions as CEO and executive director.

Removing Sun from his posts was not connected with the situation regarding Dong, according to Yu. The move was because Sun failed to fulfill his management duties, and there was no "picking sides" in this incident, Yu pointed out. 

Editors: Xu Wei, Martin Kadiev