The stock of Tencent Holdings Ltd. has reached three breakthroughs in a single day, making the Chinese internet and gaming giant jump 5 percent on Tuesday to a record HK$497.40 in Hong Kong.
Tencent's latest feat has pushed its market cap to reach the HK$4.71 trillion mark, overtaking Alibaba and snagging the top position in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The company has now also doubled in value since a low in 2018, a year in which China's online gaming restrictions caused the world's biggest shareholder capital wipeout. The Shenzhen-based corporation is worth $613 billion, placing seventh in the world.
Tencent's share price climbed over 51 percent from HK$324.3 per share on March 19, and its market value is now equivalent to Xiaomi and Meituan Dianping's combined value.
Tencent chief executive officer Ma Huateng, also known as Pony Ma, has increased its net worth to $54.8 billion. Ma solidifies his position as the richest man in China, and is now ranked 14th in the world. It should be noted that from June 9-12, Ma unloaded 9.65 million shares of Tencent stock for four consecutive days, reducing its shareholding in the company from 8.52 percent to 8.42 percent.
Shares were nearly halved at one point the following year after doubling in 2017, as gaming approvals dried up and a weakening economy in China depressed demand for ads. Yet gaming in the aftermath of COVID-19 lockdowns has been a strong point for Tencent this year.
The average stock price for analysts has risen 13 percent over the past six weeks, while Chinese investors hold a record amount of the company's equity, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Tencent Holdings has found another hit mobile game in Supercell's Brawl Stars which, according to data from the market monitoring company Sensor Tower, raked in $17.5 million with 4.8 million downloads in its first week in China.
Supercell - in which Tencent holds a majority stake - has established itself as a hitmaker of mobile games with top-grossing titles including Clash of Clans and Clash Royale. The strong start of Brawl Stars in China compares favorably with its global launch in 2018 when it grossed $11 million worldwide in the first week, with 15.5 million downloads.
The latest success reflects the fact that although games are now being released in China much later due to the country's tightening gaming regulation, the market remains hugely lucrative - particularly for Tencent and NetEase, which together account for more than half of total market revenue, according to a study by the research firm Analyses.
