Tencent Holdings denies reports on divestment; Says No “external pressure”

Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd released a statement on Thursday saying the multinational has no plans to divest the company’s assets.

A few hours ago, the Financial Times reported that Tencent Holdings Ltd has set a withdrawal target for the current financial year. The Shenzhen-based company plans to raise nearly $14.5 billion by divesting its stake in companies, including a stake in Meituan, the report said.

Based in Beijing, China, Meituan is an online shopping platform that connects customers with local suppliers and manufacturers. With a presence in more than 1,000 locations, this company is popular in China for food delivery.

Tencent also noted that the company has no external pressure to load shares into the investment. Various reports suggest that Beijing’s central government is pressuring tech companies to exit various sectors.

Tencent also has significant investments in the financial sector, which has caused problems for the Chinese government in recent months. Although unrelated, Tencent sold significant stakes in JD.Com and Sea Ltd. Last December, nearly 16 billion dollars of JD.Com shares were distributed to Tencent investors as a special dividend. At the January auction, the company sold 14.5 million American depositary shares of Sea Limited. Helped Tencent raise $3 billion. Sea Limited is a Singapore company specializing in electronic commerce and the Internet.

Since the late 2020s, the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party have taken several steps to regulate and maintain control over the country’s technology sector. China’s technology industry, one of the largest in the world, has revolutionized the way the country works. Tech giants such as Alibaba and Tencent have faced investigations, fines and regulations for alleged violations of industry policies.