Tencent

Tencent Holdings Ltd.. (腾讯) is an Internet company in the People's Republic of China. Among the diversified activities of Tencent primarily include business instant messaging service, social networking sites, online media ( web portals ), Internet value-added services (fixed and mobile ), interactive entertainment (especially multiplayer online games), e-commerce (electronic commerce ) and online advertising.

Business

With a market capitalization equivalent to 59.9 billion U.S. dollars (as of April 2013) Tencent is the largest Internet companies in the PRC. With annual revenue of seven billion U.S. dollars and a net profit of 2.7 billion U.S. dollars (as of 2012) Tencent is also currently the most profitable Internet company in China. Tencent is listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and listed on the Hang Seng Index.

The Tencent Holding has the legal form of a Limited Liability Company (Ltd. ) ( LLC) and its legal domicile in tax-efficient British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands, the company headquarters is located in Shekou district of Shenzhen City in south China's coastal province of Guangdong. Executive Director, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Tencent is its founder Ma Huateng (* 1971). More than half of employees with Tencent are research and development staff. Tencent holds over 400 patents ( as of 2009), among others, in the areas of instant messaging, e -commerce, online payment systems, search engines, data security and online games. The largest single shareholder since 2001, the South African media group Naspers, held through its Internet subsidiary group Myriad International Holdings ( MIH ). Initially Naspers was involved with 46.5 %, today the figure is around 35%, which, however, multiplies the value of this share has (as of June 2010).

History

Tencent was established in Shenzhen by Ma Huateng (also known as Pony Ma, now Chairman ) in November 1998 and Zhang Zhidong (also called Tony Zhang, now Chief Technology Officer ) established under the financial assistance of U.S. venture capitalists. The first product was launched in February 1999, the Instant Messenger OICQ, later renamed because of the name similarity with ICQ in Tencent QQ. He was so successful that within a few years for the first Tencent profit type Internet company in China rose. Since June 16, 2004, Tencent is listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, in May 2007 the MSCI World Index, since June 2008, the Hang Seng Index. Tencent launched in 2006, the first charitable foundation a Chinese Internet company, Tencent Charity Fund the. 2007 Tencent invested more than 100 million RMB in the construction of China's first research and development Institute for Internet Technologies, Tencent Research Institute, with offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. In March 2008, Qzone broke the mark of 100 million users. In June 2008, Tencent set up a joint venture with MIH - a subsidiary group of the South African media group Naspers for the area of ​​Internet - which operates the Indian Social Network ibibo. In March 2010, the QQ instant messenger crossed the mark of 100 million active users for the first time. In April 2010, Tencent participated together with Naspers in the Russian Internet company Digital Sky Technologies (DST, Mail.ru Group today ) and went with him into a strategic partnership. The proportion of Tencent in this investment was equivalent to 300 million U.S. dollars. During the World Expo 2010 QQ.com exclusive Internet service was a sponsor. In June 2010, Tencent announced the intention to a long- term strategic development partnership with the U.S. network technology provider Cisco Systems. That same year, Tencent acquired a 49.92 % of the Thai internet portal Sanook by the previous owner of MIH, which itself is the main shareholder of Tencent. In January 2011 it was announced that Tencent is negotiating with the discount coupon website Groupon on cooperation in the Chinese market. Tencent is already involved through its stake in Russia's Mail.ru Group indirectly on Groupon.

In early February 2011 it was announced that Tencent has bought a majority stake in US-based game company Riot Games. The purchase price for the new shares acquired was about 230 million U.S. dollars. Since the group had already acquired 22.34 % stake in Riot Games in 2008, participation has now risen to 92.78 %. In June 2012, we acquired for 330 million U.S. dollars approximately 48.4 % of the issued shares of the U.S. game developer Epic Games. In July 2013, Tencent participated as a passive investor in the separation of the Activision Blizzard and Vivendi. Tencent thereby holds 12 % of the shares of Activision Blizzard.

Products (Selection )

• Tencent QQ: started in February 1999, today the most common by far the instant messaging network in Asia
• QQ.com: started in December 2003 and in July 2006 the largest and most visited Internet portal in the PRC
• QQ Games: launched in September 2003, multiplayer online game portal (eg QQ Sanguo ); In October 2005 came the first self-developed MMOG. QQ Games in the 2nd quarter of 2009 to a peak of up to 6.4 million simultaneously active user accounts ( on the basis of mini-games )
• Qzone: in May 2005 launched a commercial social network, where you write blogs, lead online diary, can send photos and listen to music. One of the largest social networks in China
• QQ Player: a first time in 2008 published Media Player
• 3G QQ: social network for mobile devices
• SoSo: Launched in September 2009, developed in-house search engine that cooperated at times, with Google ( AdWords used )
• Paipai: started in March 2006, the second largest internet buying and selling platform in the PRC ( consumer-to -consumer, similar to Paypal)
• Tenpay: started in March 2006, on-line payment method
• Tencent Traveler: one of the most widely used Internet browsers in the PRC, it is based on the Trident technology of Internet Explorer from Microsoft