Tencent posts fastest jump in quarterly revenue in more than a year after China reopens

Tencent reported an 11% jump in first-quarter revenue on Wednesday, marking the fastest growth in more than a year.

Here’s how Tencent did in the first quarter, versus Refinitiv consensus estimates:

• Revenue: 150 billion Chinese yuan ($21.4 billion) vs. 146.09 billion yuan expected, a rise of 11%% year-on-year.
• Profit attributable to equity holders of the company: 25.8 billion yuan vs. 31 billion yuan expected, a rise of 10% year-on-year.

Investors are focusing on whether the reopening of China’s economy will give a boost to the country’s tech giants, including Tencent. China’s economy grew 4.5% in the first quarter, the fastest pace in a year.

The Chinese tech industry as a whole faced intense scrutiny as part of a broader regulatory tightening on China’s domestic technology sector that began in late 2020 and wiped off more than a combined $1 trillion from the country’s biggest companies.

But more recently, there have been signs the central government is softening its stance toward internet titans like Tencent, Alibaba, and Didi.

In 2021, Chinese regulators froze the approval of new video game releases, which badly impacted Tencent. However, over the past few months, Beijing has loosened its grip on the industry greenlighting more titles for release.

Amid a tougher gaming market at home, Tencent has boosted its focus on international markets.

Tencent, which is a major owner of and investor in tech businesses worldwide, has been shedding some of its equity investments as Beijing remains on high alert about the size of domestic tech companies.