Lai Lin Thomala
Research expert covering Greater China
Tencent Holdings - statistics & facts
Tencent is one of the Chinese tech companies which can find footing in the global marketplace. Started as a PC-based messaging software in 1999, it has evolved into an internet giant. With a market value of 500 billion U.S. dollars, Tencent ranked fourth among its global rivals. Within China, Tencent’s products have enjoyed a great popularity, such as instant messengers WeChat and QQ, social networking service Qzone, and mobile game Honor of Kings. As the conglomerate becomes more global, its revenue saw an exponential growth over the past decade. Clearly, Tencent’s remarkable achievement has inspired the global technology world how to build an ecosystem within the mobile phone.
Apart from e-commerce business, the tech behemoth has made its foray into the world of online video, digital music, e-reading, and video games. With ownership stakes in Riot Games, Epic Games, and a handful of game developers and publishers, Tencent has climbed to the top of the ladder in gaming. Its partnership with Nintendo since 2019 has further extended Tencent's home entertainment offerings in the Chinese console market. Considering its thriving e-commerce and gaming business, Tencent would very likely keep its dominant position in China's internet industry.
A different business model
Tencent adopted a counter-intuitive approach in building its empire – increasing customer reach before app monetization. While Meta's business relied on advertising heavily, online advertising accounted for less than one-fifth of Tencent’s annual revenue. Unlike its West social network counterparts, the enterprise’s major earning came from value-added services, almost two-thirds of which was generated by online games. Other important revenue streams include digital content, membership subscriptions, and virtual goods sales.Diversity is the king
Another clever move of Tencent was to diversify its products. The success formula of WeChat was its one-stop solution, making it indispensable in daily life in China. From hospital registration and taxi calling to movie ticket booking and holiday planning, it is the super app for everything. In fact, it is a common practice to pay with WeChat by scanning QR codes in brick-and-mortar stores. This is one of the reasons why the age distribution of WeChat users spread quite evenly in China. In the end of 2024, WeChat’s monthly active user base surpassed 1.38 billion.Apart from e-commerce business, the tech behemoth has made its foray into the world of online video, digital music, e-reading, and video games. With ownership stakes in Riot Games, Epic Games, and a handful of game developers and publishers, Tencent has climbed to the top of the ladder in gaming. Its partnership with Nintendo since 2019 has further extended Tencent's home entertainment offerings in the Chinese console market. Considering its thriving e-commerce and gaming business, Tencent would very likely keep its dominant position in China's internet industry.
