TENCENT: 2018 A RECORD YEAR
Gaming giant says 16 companies went public, on lookout for more opportunities
CHINA’S Tencent Holdings has provided a detailed review of its investment performance for the first time, saying last year was its best year and vowing to look for more opportunities despite a challenging outlook and concerns it is losing focus.
President Martin Lau told an investor conference, here, last month that the Chinese social media and gaming giant had invested in more than 700 companies in the past 11 years.
Of those 63 were now listed while 122 were valued at more than US$1 billion (RM4.07 billion), according to a transcript.
Last year was a record year in terms of listings, with 16 Tencentbacked companies going public, he said.
The Chinese social media and gaming giant peaked in value in January last year before dropping after its core business was affected by a government crackdown on the gaming sector, losing US$114 billion in market capitalisation with a 23 per cent stock price drop in the year.
Some analysts criticised Tencent for relying too heavily on investment while its core business growth slowed.
Lau said the firm intended to invest on the same scale this year, regardless of challenges such as China’s economic slowdown and intensified competition.
It posted a betterthan-expected 30 per cent quarterly profit rise in November despite a gaming regulatory freeze, largely thanks to investment gains.
Tencent’s market value now stands at US$409 billion, making it the second-largest company in Asia after New York-listed Alibaba Group.
The combined market value of companies in which Tencent hold a stake of five per cent or more has exceeded US$500 billion, said Lau.