but both are extremely closed-minded, almost as much as the company they represent. “The only constant I have seen since I have been in this industry is that things change quickly. This job is never boring ,” Chan emphasises.
Tencent is also keen to make it clear that it never forces the purchase of gaming studios through coercive tactics. “Some studios tell us they are not interested and to leave them alone. And we do indeed do that switzerland number data ,” Chan says.
Tencent’s real strongman is Ma Huateng . Also known as Pony Ma, Ma Huateng is competing with billionaires like Jack Ma for the title of “China’s richest citizen.” He currently sits in third place with an estimated fortune of $37 billion.
Ma Huateng studied computer science and founded Tencent with four friends in 1998. The company quickly grew thanks to messaging services such as QQ and WeChat. Tencent's initial focus was on creating clones of services already present in the United States to adapt them to the Chinese market.
In 2003, Tencent launched its video game division with card and chess games. Today, this area generates approximately one third of the group's sales.
The tech group has long been seen as loyal to the Beijing government and its business seemed perfectly safe until recently. However, the Chinese authorities seem to have run out of the kindness they had previously shown Tencent. Today, the Chinese Communist Party sees the rising power of tech companies as a threat. As a result, Alibaba, Tencent and other Chinese tech giants have lost several billion dollars in value over the past few months.