Tencent Holdings is set to lose its place among the world’s 10 largest companies by market value, leaving no Chinese names in the list as Bejing’s regulatory crackdown continues to wreak havoc on the stock market.
Hong Kong-listed shares of the Internet giant fell as much as 1.9% on Thursday before paring some of that loss, with its market capitalisation standing at about US$552-billion as of 11.55am local time. That’s just below the value of US chip maker Nvidia.
This would mark the first time that a Chinese company isn’t among the world’s 10 largest since 2017. Tencent’s unseating follows that of Alibaba Group earlier this year, as China’s tech behemoths face tougher rules on everything from monopolistic practices to data security and kids’ gaming hours.
Tencent has lost about $390-billion in market value since its shares reached a record high in January
Tencent has lost about $390-billion in market value since its shares reached a record high in January. The Hang Seng Index is the world’s worst performer this month amid the clampdown, with Alibaba and Tencent the biggest drags.
There are no signs that the pain will end soon as the regulatory campaign continues to spread and deepen on nearly a daily basis. A gauge of Hong Kong-listed tech stocks extended declines to a fourth session on Thursday. — Reported by Ishika Mookerjee, (c) 2021 Bloomberg LP
