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TikTok's owner ByteDance has changed the name of its subsidiary from ByteDance (HK) to Douyin Group (HK), fueling speculation a Hong Kong initial public offering for the unit is on the way.

Douyin is the name of the domestic version of Tiktok.

The name change took effect from May 6, according to the website of the Companies Registry of Hong Kong.

Last month ByteDance hired Julie Gao from international law firm Skadden as its new chief financial officer. Gao, who counseled tech companies on initial public offerings and other types of financing, will work out of ByteDance's offices in Hong Kong and Singapore.

The changes revived speculation that ByteDance is looking to spin off the unit for a separate listing.

This came as Chinese regulators banned younger users from sending virtual gifts on livestream platforms, according to a notice published by several government agencies including the National Radio and TV Administration and Cyberspace Administration of China.

Meanwhile, Chinese skin treatment product provider giant Biogene, which counts private equity firm Hillhouse Capital and investment bank CICC as investors, has filed to list in Hong Kong.

Separately, Hong Kong's first retail green bonds were 1.2 times oversubscried with HK$32.88 billion. The total number of subscribers reached 493,000 and the final issue amount will be raised to a maximum of HK$20 billion, a government spokesman said.

Name change hints Douyin IPO on way