Tech giant crackdown

CHINA’s largest social media and gaming firm has revealed a shock drop in profits following slow growth and a crackdown by regulators.

Tencent said second quarter profits fell to about £2bn, behind analyst estimates of £2.2bn. It was the first decline in earnings posted by the company in nearly 13 years. Sales rose 30pc to £8.4bn in the latest quarter, also behind analyst predictions, of £8.8bn.

It became Asia’s first listed firm to pass a $500bn valuation last year but since then shares have sunk, valuing it yesterday at around $460bn. Tencent shares closed 3.6pc down in Hong Kong last night.