Chinese stock market darling Tencent has been a significant force behind the Naspers share price. The Tencent holding was moved to Prosus, which became Europe’s biggest listed consumer internet firm when it floated on the Amsterdam stock exchange at a valuation of more than €100bn in September. Prosus is controlled by Naspers. Prosus recently cautioned that not all of its operations had coped well with Covid-19. Tencent, however, has benefited from an uptake in gaming as people have self-isolated in lockdowns. BizNews Premium partner the Wall Street Journal reported that Tencent Holdings’ first-quarter profit was fuelled by strong demand for mobile games as homebound Chinese consumers turned to online entertainment during the coronavirus pandemic. Tencent, the world’s biggest video game company by revenue, said its January-March net profit grew 6% to 28.9 billion yuan ($4.08bn) from the same period last year. Revenue rose 26% to 108.1 billion yuan. Both beat analyst estimates, according to FactSet. – Editor
Tencent shares set for record high after $305bn rebound
By Jeanny Yu
(Bloomberg) – Tencent surged toward a record Tuesday after a $305bn rally since its 2018 low.
The stock rose as much as 5.1% Tuesday, putting Tencent on pace for its highest-ever close. Shares, poised to have their best month since January 2012, have surged nearly 50% from March’s bottom to send Tencent’s market value above HK$4.7trn ($606bn).
After doubling in 2017, shares were almost halved at one point the following year as gaming approvals dried up and a slowing economy in China cooled advertising demand. But gaming has been a strong point in 2020 for Tencent in the wake of Covid-19 lockdowns. Analysts’ average stock target has risen 13% the past six weeks while Chinese investors have been holding a record amount of the company’s equity, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
