Alec Hogg: Xi demands higher pay for Tencent’s workers
Shortly after Beijing's assault on Chinese tech companies began, pundits emerged advising investors to take advantage of their "cheap" share prices. We thought differently, selling the BizNews Share Portfolio's entire stake in long-held Naspers whose market value is determined by the performance of Chinese internet company Tencent.
So far, so good. In our weekly chat yesterday, veteran money manager Piet Viljoen quipped that "When communists are around there's never a bargain." Like every joke, there's some underlying truth – and it turned into the perfect cue for Chinese leader-for-life Xi Jinping's latest strike in his "common prosperity" ideal.
Unfortunately for South Africans, Xi is again swinging at already groggy tech companies including Tencent. This time issuing a direct order that they cut their profit by raising wages and improve conditions for employees, including tech platforms' 84-million contract workers.
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