Tencent Agrees To Comply With Chinese Regulators

As government regulators in China increase tech industry oversight, Tencent said it will comply with new laws intended to curb antitrust activities and tighten FinTech acceleration, according to a Bloomberg report on Friday, November 13.

Beijing’s proposed new laws had a negative effect on the market value of the country’s tech leaders like Tencent and Alibaba, dropping some US$290 million in two days.

On a Thursday, November 12, earnings call, Martin Lau, Tencent president, told analysts that the proposed new laws will not overly affect its online entertainment and gaming business. The regulators are looking more closely at transaction-based platforms, Lau said, per Bloomberg.

“We’ll work very constructively with the regulators to ensure our compliance,” Lau said, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The biggest video game firm by revenue, Shenzhen-based Tencent’s profit surged 89% in September to reach US$5.81 billion, fueled by the pandemic. Its business units span social media, video streaming, digital payments, and wealth management.

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