Tencent Holdings pledged to sharply increase investments this year after posting a 25 per cent gain in quarterly revenue, joining its biggest rivals in a spending binge that will jack up competition in China’s post-pandemic internet arena.
China’s largest tech corporations are vying to entice users in the fast-growing arenas of online commerce and video. Tencent plans to plow a larger portion of its incremental profits this year into cloud services, games and video content, joining Alibaba Group and Meituan in telegraphing sharp hikes in investment.
Tencent is trying to sustain growth in revenue, which climbed to 135.3 billion Chinese yuan ($21bn) in the three months ended March. But its shares slid more than 3 per cent in Hong Kong on concerns about margin erosion, which prompted brokerage CICC to trim its earnings estimate.
The increased spending comes as Tencent faces competition from the likes of ByteDance and growing scrutiny from Beijing. Pony Ma’s company has largely escaped the anti-trust crackdown for now - despite its ubiquitous WeChat app offering unrivalled insights into all aspects of Chinese life and a commanding lead in gaming, music and social media markets.
But its FinTech arm, alongside those of other giants such as Didi and Meituan, faces wide-ranging restrictions similar to the ones imposed up on Jack Ma’s Ant Group.
Net income came in at 47.8bn yuan in the March quarter, buoyed by 19.5bn yuan of gains from the value of investments and disposals. Excluding those gains, adjusted net income came in at 33.1bn yuan, slightly behind estimates.
For now, gaming and social content remain Tencent’s biggest and steadiest cash generators. Online gaming revenue rose 17 per cent during the quarter.
Executives sought to assuage investor concerns, reiterating that Tencent remains very focused on risk management and has been “self-restrained” on the size of its non-payment financial products.
“When we look into the internal review and when we look into what other things that need to be done in order to make sure that we are compliant with the spirit of the regulators, it’s actually relatively manageable,” Tencent’s president Martin Lau told analysts on a conference call.
The company also reiterated earlier-disclosed plans to invest 50 billion yuan in its so-called social values initiative, where it will fund philanthropic efforts in areas such as education, rural revitalisation and carbon neutral - areas that align firmly with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s priorities.
The decision to ramp up investment is mainly driven by broadening market opportunities observed in business services, online games and short-form videos.
There are also competitive pressures from industry peers who are spending aggressively. While near-term costs will increase, the timing of returns from these investments may be unpredictable.
The Chinese giant had shed roughly $200bn in market value since its January peak, part of a broader tech selloff that had investors weighing the potential fallout for the online juggernaut. Apart from FinTech, competitors have long argued WeChat - now venturing into short videos and e-commerce - is locking users inside its ecosystem by blocking links to external services.
The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry
Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
The years Ramadan fell in May
Votes
Total votes: 1.8 million
Ashraf Ghani: 923,592 votes
Abdullah Abdullah: 720,841 votes
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre, six-cylinder
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 395bhp
Torque: 420Nm
Price: from Dh321,200
On sale: now
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Enterprise-grade%20security%20and%20privacy%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Unlimited%20higher-speed%20GPT-4%20access%20with%20no%20caps%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Longer%20context%20windows%20for%20processing%20longer%20inputs%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Advanced%20data%20analysis%20capabilities%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Customisation%20options%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Shareable%20chat%20templates%20that%20companies%20can%20use%20to%20collaborate%20and%20build%20common%20workflows%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Analytics%20dashboard%20for%20usage%20insights%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Free%20credits%20to%20use%20OpenAI%20APIs%20to%20extend%20OpenAI%20into%20a%20fully-custom%20solution%20for%20enterprises%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Feeding the thousands for iftar
Six industrial scale vats of 500litres each are used to cook the kanji or broth
Each vat contains kanji or porridge to feed 1,000 people
The rice porridge is poured into a 500ml plastic box
350 plastic tubs are placed in one container trolley
Each aluminium container trolley weighing 300kg is unloaded by a small crane fitted on a truck
bundesliga results
Mainz 0 Augsburg 1 (Niederlechner 1')
Schalke 1 (Caligiuri pen 51') Bayer Leverkusen 1 (Miranda og 81')
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What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
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The biog
Age: 30
Position: Senior lab superintendent at Emirates Global Aluminium
Education: Bachelor of science in chemical engineering, post graduate degree in light metal reduction technology
Favourite part of job: The challenge, because it is challenging
Favourite quote: “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” Gandi
Manchester United's summer dealings
In
Victor Lindelof (Benfica) £30.7 million
Romelu Lukaku (Everton) £75 million
Nemanja Matic (Chelsea) £40 million
Out
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Released
Wayne Rooney (Everton) Free transfer
Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad) £9.8 million
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
