Profile of Tencent, China’s most valuable company at ~$900B, with a powerful ecosystem including WeChat, and local and overseas startup investments worth ~$259B (Wall Street Journal)
Tencent Holdings Limited is a Chinese multinational technology company that provides Internet-related services and products. It has become the most valuable company in China after recording a market capitalization of $900 billion as of April 2021.
This Chinese tech giant is known for its powerful ecosystem, which includes the popular messaging app WeChat and massive investments in local and overseas startups worth an estimated $259 billion.
In this article, we will delve deeper into Tencent’s profile, its business model, investments, and financial performance.
What Does Tencent Do?
Tencent Holdings Limited was founded in 1998 by Ma Huateng (also known as Pony Ma), Zhang Zhidong, Xu Chenye, Chen Yidan, and Zeng Liqing.
The company specializes in the development of internet-related services and products, such as social media platforms, online gaming platforms, retail experiences (WeChat Store), and more. They are best known for its mobile messaging app WeChat which boasts over 1 billion monthly active users across the world.
Apart from WeChat, some other popular products owned by Tencent include QQ Music, the QQ Messenger app, and Kuitan (an online travel service). Additionally, the company also owns stakes in several well-known companies like Spotify Technology SA; Electric Arts Inc; Sea Ltd.; Pinduoduo Inc., etc.
Investments and Financial Performance
Apart from its own products and services portfolio, Tencent has also made significant investments in local Chinese startups as well as overseas startup companies.
According to Wall Street Journal estimates, these investments are worth an estimated $259 billion dollars. These investments have been instrumental in helping the company diversify its income stream through strategic stake acquisitions or partnerships with successful startups who can benefit from their capital injections or technical expertise.
In terms of financial performance for the year 2020 (the most recent year available), Tencent reported total revenue amounting to ¥281 billion yuan ($43 billion USD). In comparison to 2019 figures when they recorded ¥274 billion yuan ($41 billion USD) revenue it shows an improvement of 2% YoY despite being affected by Covid-19 pandemic-related issues.
Profit attributable to shareholders also grew substantially by 11% YoY to ¥102 million yuan ($15 million USD). Overall this indicates that Tencent’s financial performance remains robust even after taking into account external factors like Covid19 disruptions or changing consumer behavior due to digital transformations happening all over the world due to technological advancement.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be argued that Tencent is one of China’s most valuable companies with a current market capitalization value of ~$900B.
The company has been able to maintain a competitive edge thanks to its wide range of internet-related services & products like WeChat’s massive investment portfolios both domestically & internationally strategic stake acquisitions/partnerships with successful global firms as well as strong financial performance even during challenging times like pandemics like Covid19.
All in all, these factors have contributed significantly towards the success & staying power enjoyed by Tencent globally since its founding more than two decades ago.
