It is one of the world's largest internet and technology companies, and the first company in Asia to exceed the $500 billion (Dh1.84 trillion) valuation mark.
But unless you’re Chinese or a gamer, this company’s name might not be as well known to you as, say, Facebook or Amazon.
In its native China, Tencent is a household name responsible for an app that has become a part of daily life – it's called WeChat ("Weixin" in Mandarin).
“It’s the universal connector in China,” says Matthew Brennan, who is writing a book on the history of WeChat, and regularly gives presentations about the app. “It’s the pipework for information. Everyone uses it, and people open WeChat around 40 to 50 times a day.”
WeChat has more than a billion users and has features such as messaging, video conferencing, a social news feed, e-commerce, payment functions, smart city apps and transport booking, and much more.
Mr Brennan believes it's a common misconception – reported recently in the likes of The Guardian newspaper in the UK for example – that WeChat came to dominate in China because of state censorship of Western social media like Facebook and Instagram.
“If you look at Line in Japan, or Kakao in South Korea, or Zalo in Vietnam, it’s been strong local competitors in Asia that have won,” Mr Brennan says, referencing the dominant messaging apps used in different Asian countries.
“It’s winner takes all, and WeChat won [in China],” he says.
Tencent is the world’s fifth-largest tech company by market capitalisation, overtaking Facebook this year and sitting behind only Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon. It has flourished, mostly domestically, through the likes of WeChat, its app store and content provision with Tencent Video and Music, but in another important domain it has become a powerful player on a global scale.
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“Tencent is behind three of the biggest games companies,” says Eric Chou, a longtime games industry observer with a focus on China.
“Because of the games, they’re already a global company.”
Tencent’s profits more than doubled in 2017 to 21.6 billion yuan (Dh12.39bn). It reported 10.5bn yuan for the previous year. This exceeded analyst earning estimates with adjusted net profits of 20.8bn yuan in the last quarter to end December, a year-on-year increase of 98 per cent.
Tencent derives much of its revenue from gaming, which it dominates domestically with the vastly profitable Honor of Kings (also known as Arena of Valor), but also globally through companies it has invested in or acquired, such as Riot Games and Supercell.
And the profits are substantial. Finland's Supercell, maker of mobile game Clash of Clans, made a profit of $810 million (Dh2.97bn) in 2017, despite not releasing any new games globally.
Riot's League of Legends is another hugely popular and profitable game, and a major feature in the rapidly growing e-sports scene. Tencent has stakes in two of the biggest current phenomenons in gaming: PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (developed by PUBG Corporation) and Fortnite (developed by Epic).
Tencent also has stakes in Activision Blizzard, whose stable includes Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush Saga. It acquired a 5 per cent stake in French games giant Ubisoft in March. In the $109bn global video game market, it is the world's largest games company, yet many people have never heard of it.
But gaming is not the only jewel in its crown (even if it is the biggest).
The aforementioned WeChat gives Tencent enormous leverage in China, the world’s largest internet market.
Bhavtosh Vajpayee, senior Asian internet research analyst at Sanford Bernstein, believes Tencent is perhaps one of the great consumer companies.
“It’s understanding of consumer preferences is nuanced and has repeatedly proven handy in the way it has approached business expansion – be it music, video, news, social, payments or gaming,” he says.
"The other thing unique about Tencent is that WeChat is fast becoming an operating system, to which all manner of service providers, brands and platforms want to bolt on their offerings."
The ubiquity of WeChat has allowed Tencent to gain a 40 per cent market share of China's $4.7 trillion mobile payment market, according to Beijing consultancy Analysys International. Tencent's rival in this market is the older Alipay, from China's other internet and tech giant, Alibaba, which has a larger share of 53 per cent. But analysts say Tencent's mobile payments have more potential for growth.
Tencent Music, which is far bigger than Spotify and Apple Music in China, is expected to make a US stock listing that could exceed $25bn later this year. Tencent owns 7.5 per cent of Spotify, while Spotify has a 9 per cent stake in Tencent Music in a swap deal from late 2017.
Tencent Video, which has over 62 million paying subscribers, is the country's equivalent to Netflix, with exclusive content such as Game of Thrones.
But the company has had setbacks.
Co-founder Ma Huateng, 46, also known as Pony Ma, lost out to Facebook in the purchase of WhatsApp in 2014. The acquisition of the messaging app could have made Tencent a global internet power, but Mark Zuckerberg swooped in with a gargantuan offer of $19bn, more than double what Mr Ma had offered.
Tencent has gone on to gain a wide portfolio, owning stakes in Tesla (5 per cent) and Snapchat (12 per cent).
It led a round of funding in April last year, along with Microsoft and eBay, for FlipKart, an e-commerce company in India, and has another interest in that country via Hike, a messaging service.
It has invested in Didi, China’s equivalent of Uber, and has stakes in JD.com, one of China’s biggest e-tailers.
The latter is a major competitor to Alibaba-backed Tmall.
Alibaba is China's biggest e-commerce company and was the second Asian company to reach a valuation of over $500bn.
It has started its own games division to compete with its major rival.
Another player in this sector is NetEase, a smaller company that is responsible for many popular mobile and PC games in China.
With the bulk of Tencent’s profits derived from gaming, can it sustain itself in China’s gaming market?
"We think mobile games probably has the largest growth potential among all content types, including drama, movie, music, etc," says Liu Zhijing, an analyst of China media and internet at UBS Securities.
“This is because of mobile games’ interactive features and deeper player engagement.”
Lisa Cosmas Hanson, managing partner of Niko Partners, a market research and consultancy company focused on Asia's games market, estimates that China's mobile gaming revenue will surpass PC online gaming revenue this year.
“Mobile gaming revenue will in fact double from 2017 to 2022,” she says. “Our forecast for mobile gaming revenue in 2022 is $24.7bn, and our forecast for PC online gaming revenue in 2022 is $17.4bn.”
She attributes this growth to the increase in smartphone users, declines in the price of mobile data, the widening range of mobile games to attract more diverse users and the rise of mobile e-sports.
Of Tencent’s future, Ms Hanson says: “They have more than 40 per cent market share in China for PC and mobile games, they are constantly investing in more platforms and genres, including serious games and educational games, and they have invested in at least 50 companies globally, ranging from small ownership to 100 per cent ownership.”
“The company will certainly sustain profitability in gaming, though I suspect there will be variance in the profit margin from year to year.”But in one way, Tencent still has a way to go: “Tencent is global in its investments, but its brand recall is not yet global in the way Google or Facebook is known, which is a shame. This will change over time, I am sure,” says Mr Vajpayee.
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The biog
Favourite hobby: I love to sing but I don’t get to sing as much nowadays sadly.
Favourite book: Anything by Sidney Sheldon.
Favourite movie: The Exorcist 2. It is a big thing in our family to sit around together and watch horror movies, I love watching them.
Favourite holiday destination: The favourite place I have been to is Florence, it is a beautiful city. My dream though has always been to visit Cyprus, I really want to go there.
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Virtual banks explained
What is a virtual bank?
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority defines it as a bank that delivers services through the internet or other electronic channels instead of physical branches. That means not only facilitating payments but accepting deposits and making loans, just like traditional ones. Other terms used interchangeably include digital or digital-only banks or neobanks. By contrast, so-called digital wallets or e-wallets such as Apple Pay, PayPal or Google Pay usually serve as intermediaries between a consumer’s traditional account or credit card and a merchant, usually via a smartphone or computer.
What’s the draw in Asia?
Hundreds of millions of people under-served by traditional institutions, for one thing. In China, India and elsewhere, digital wallets such as Alipay, WeChat Pay and Paytm have already become ubiquitous, offering millions of people an easy way to store and spend their money via mobile phone. Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines are also among the world’s biggest under-banked countries; together they have almost half a billion people.
Is Hong Kong short of banks?
No, but the city is among the most cash-reliant major economies, leaving room for newcomers to disrupt the entrenched industry. Ant Financial, an Alibaba Group Holding affiliate that runs Alipay and MYBank, and Tencent Holdings, the company behind WeBank and WeChat Pay, are among the owners of the eight ventures licensed to create virtual banks in Hong Kong, with operations expected to start as early as the end of the year.
MATCH INFO
BRIGHTON 0
MANCHESTER UNITED 3
McTominay 44'
Mata 73'
Pogba 80'
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Five films to watch
Castle in the Sky (1986)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Only Yesterday (1991)
Pom Poki (1994)
The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
More on Quran memorisation:
Ballon d’Or shortlists
Men
Sadio Mane (Senegal/Liverpool), Sergio Aguero (Aregentina/Manchester City), Frenkie de Jong (Netherlans/Barcelona), Hugo Lloris (France/Tottenham), Dusan Tadic (Serbia/Ajax), Kylian Mbappe (France/PSG), Trent Alexander-Arnold (England/Liverpool), Donny van de Beek (Netherlands/Ajax), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon/Arsenal), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Germany/Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Juventus), Alisson (Brazil/Liverpool), Matthijs de Ligt (Netherlands/Juventus), Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid), Georginio Wijnaldum (Netherlands/Liverpool), Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands/Liverpool), Bernardo Silva (Portugal/Manchester City), Son Heung-min (South Korea/Tottenham), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich), Roberto Firmino (Brazil/Liverpool), Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona), Riyad Mahrez (Algeria/Manchester City), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City), Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal/Napoli), Antoine Griezmann (France/Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool), Eden Hazard (BEL/Real Madrid), Marquinhos (Brazil/Paris-SG), Raheem Sterling (Eengland/Manchester City), Joao Félix(Portugal/Atletico Madrid)
Women
Sam Kerr (Austria/Chelsea), Ellen White (England/Manchester City), Nilla Fischer (Sweden/Linkopings), Amandine Henry (France/Lyon), Lucy Bronze(England/Lyon), Alex Morgan (USA/Orlando Pride), Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands/Arsenal), Dzsenifer Marozsan (Germany/Lyon), Pernille Harder (Denmark/Wolfsburg), Sarah Bouhaddi (France/Lyon), Megan Rapinoe (USA/Reign FC), Lieke Martens (Netherlands/Barcelona), Sari van Veenendal (Netherlands/Atletico Madrid), Wendie Renard (France/Lyon), Rose Lavelle(USA/Washington Spirit), Marta (Brazil/Orlando Pride), Ada Hegerberg (Norway/Lyon), Kosovare Asllani (Sweden/CD Tacon), Sofia Jakobsson (Sweden/CD Tacon), Tobin Heath (USA/Portland Thorns)
RESULT
West Brom 2 Liverpool 2
West Brom: Livermore (79'), Rondón (88' )
Liverpool: Ings (4'), Salah (72')
PROVISIONAL FIXTURE LIST
Premier League
Wednesday, June 17 (Kick-offs uae times) Aston Villa v Sheffield United 9pm; Manchester City v Arsenal 11pm
Friday, June 19 Norwich v Southampton 9pm; Tottenham v Manchester United 11pm
Saturday, June 20 Watford v Leicester 3.30pm; Brighton v Arsenal 6pm; West Ham v Wolves 8.30pm; Bournemouth v Crystal Palace 10.45pm
Sunday, June 21 Newcastle v Sheffield United 2pm; Aston Villa v Chelsea 7.30pm; Everton v Liverpool 10pm
Monday, June 22 Manchester City v Burnley 11pm (Sky)
Tuesday, June 23 Southampton v Arsenal 9pm; Tottenham v West Ham 11.15pm
Wednesday, June 24 Manchester United v Sheffield United 9pm; Newcastle v Aston Villa 9pm; Norwich v Everton 9pm; Liverpool v Crystal Palace 11.15pm
Thursday, June 25 Burnley v Watford 9pm; Leicester v Brighton 9pm; Chelsea v Manchester City 11.15pm; Wolves v Bournemouth 11.15pm
Sunday June 28 Aston Villa vs Wolves 3pm; Watford vs Southampton 7.30pm
Monday June 29 Crystal Palace vs Burnley 11pm
Tuesday June 30 Brighton vs Manchester United 9pm; Sheffield United vs Tottenham 11.15pm
Wednesday July 1 Bournemouth vs Newcastle 9pm; Everton vs Leicester 9pm; West Ham vs Chelsea 11.15pm
Thursday July 2 Arsenal vs Norwich 9pm; Manchester City vs Liverpool 11.15pm
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In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
UAE Team Emirates
Valerio Conti (ITA)
Alessandro Covi (ITA)
Joe Dombrowski (USA)
Davide Formolo (ITA)
Fernando Gaviria (COL)
Sebastian Molano (COL)
Maximiliano Richeze (ARG)
Diego Ulissi (ITAS)
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
