YY Inc's shares rose as much as 12 percent in their NASDAQ debut Wednesday, as the social media platform sought to revive a US IPO market for Chinese companies after an eight-month lull.

The company's shares climbed to $11.75 after opening at $10.50 during Wednesday trading.

A spate of Chinese companies hit US exchanges in 2010, but the market for these offerings largely dried up as China faced questions about growth, corporate governance and transparency.

Scandals at Chinese companies including Sino-Forest Corp and Longtop Financial Technologies also spooked investors.

The last US IPO of a Chinese company was Vipshop Holding's in March. In May, car rental provider China Auto Rental Holdings pulled its $138 million offering after poor investor demand. A slew of publicly traded Chinese companies have also decided to go private as their shares fell on US exchanges.

But the tide may be turning for Chinese companies, said Thomas Rice, a partner at New York law firm Baker & McKenzie LLP who has worked with Chinese companies.

"The leadership in China is probably getting tired about hearing about these problems, and the Chinese take the prestige of listing in the US very seriously," he said. "It will never be perfect, but I think companies and underwriters are more seriously vetting who they let consider listing here."

A successful listing for YY could also open the door for other Chinese companies looking to list in the US. A number of Chinese Internet firms are weighing listing there, including online travel site Qunar, online retailer 360buy.com and online shopping site LightInTheBox, sources previously told Reuters.

"There are a lot of good Chinese companies looking at us as a harbinger to see if we can become an ice-breaker to be listed in the US markets," said Eric Ho, YY's CFO.