It is one of the world's largest internet and technology companies, and the first company in Asia to exceed the $500 billion (Dh1.84 trillion) valuation mark.
But unless you’re Chinese or a gamer, this company’s name might not be as well known to you as, say, Facebook or Amazon.
In its native China, Tencent is a household name responsible for an app that has become a part of daily life – it's called WeChat ("Weixin" in Mandarin).
“It’s the universal connector in China,” says Matthew Brennan, who is writing a book on the history of WeChat, and regularly gives presentations about the app. “It’s the pipework for information. Everyone uses it, and people open WeChat around 40 to 50 times a day.”
WeChat has more than a billion users and has features such as messaging, video conferencing, a social news feed, e-commerce, payment functions, smart city apps and transport booking, and much more.
Mr Brennan believes it's a common misconception – reported recently in the likes of The Guardian newspaper in the UK for example – that WeChat came to dominate in China because of state censorship of Western social media like Facebook and Instagram.
“If you look at Line in Japan, or Kakao in South Korea, or Zalo in Vietnam, it’s been strong local competitors in Asia that have won,” Mr Brennan says, referencing the dominant messaging apps used in different Asian countries.
“It’s winner takes all, and WeChat won [in China],” he says.
Tencent is the world’s fifth-largest tech company by market capitalisation, overtaking Facebook this year and sitting behind only Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon. It has flourished, mostly domestically, through the likes of WeChat, its app store and content provision with Tencent Video and Music, but in another important domain it has become a powerful player on a global scale.
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“Tencent is behind three of the biggest games companies,” says Eric Chou, a longtime games industry observer with a focus on China.
“Because of the games, they’re already a global company.”
Tencent’s profits more than doubled in 2017 to 21.6 billion yuan (Dh12.39bn). It reported 10.5bn yuan for the previous year. This exceeded analyst earning estimates with adjusted net profits of 20.8bn yuan in the last quarter to end December, a year-on-year increase of 98 per cent.
Tencent derives much of its revenue from gaming, which it dominates domestically with the vastly profitable Honor of Kings (also known as Arena of Valor), but also globally through companies it has invested in or acquired, such as Riot Games and Supercell.
And the profits are substantial. Finland's Supercell, maker of mobile game Clash of Clans, made a profit of $810 million (Dh2.97bn) in 2017, despite not releasing any new games globally.
Riot's League of Legends is another hugely popular and profitable game, and a major feature in the rapidly growing e-sports scene. Tencent has stakes in two of the biggest current phenomenons in gaming: PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (developed by PUBG Corporation) and Fortnite (developed by Epic).
Tencent also has stakes in Activision Blizzard, whose stable includes Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush Saga. It acquired a 5 per cent stake in French games giant Ubisoft in March. In the $109bn global video game market, it is the world's largest games company, yet many people have never heard of it.
But gaming is not the only jewel in its crown (even if it is the biggest).
The aforementioned WeChat gives Tencent enormous leverage in China, the world’s largest internet market.
Bhavtosh Vajpayee, senior Asian internet research analyst at Sanford Bernstein, believes Tencent is perhaps one of the great consumer companies.
“It’s understanding of consumer preferences is nuanced and has repeatedly proven handy in the way it has approached business expansion – be it music, video, news, social, payments or gaming,” he says.
"The other thing unique about Tencent is that WeChat is fast becoming an operating system, to which all manner of service providers, brands and platforms want to bolt on their offerings."
The ubiquity of WeChat has allowed Tencent to gain a 40 per cent market share of China's $4.7 trillion mobile payment market, according to Beijing consultancy Analysys International. Tencent's rival in this market is the older Alipay, from China's other internet and tech giant, Alibaba, which has a larger share of 53 per cent. But analysts say Tencent's mobile payments have more potential for growth.
Tencent Music, which is far bigger than Spotify and Apple Music in China, is expected to make a US stock listing that could exceed $25bn later this year. Tencent owns 7.5 per cent of Spotify, while Spotify has a 9 per cent stake in Tencent Music in a swap deal from late 2017.
Tencent Video, which has over 62 million paying subscribers, is the country's equivalent to Netflix, with exclusive content such as Game of Thrones.
But the company has had setbacks.
Co-founder Ma Huateng, 46, also known as Pony Ma, lost out to Facebook in the purchase of WhatsApp in 2014. The acquisition of the messaging app could have made Tencent a global internet power, but Mark Zuckerberg swooped in with a gargantuan offer of $19bn, more than double what Mr Ma had offered.
Tencent has gone on to gain a wide portfolio, owning stakes in Tesla (5 per cent) and Snapchat (12 per cent).
It led a round of funding in April last year, along with Microsoft and eBay, for FlipKart, an e-commerce company in India, and has another interest in that country via Hike, a messaging service.
It has invested in Didi, China’s equivalent of Uber, and has stakes in JD.com, one of China’s biggest e-tailers.
The latter is a major competitor to Alibaba-backed Tmall.
Alibaba is China's biggest e-commerce company and was the second Asian company to reach a valuation of over $500bn.
It has started its own games division to compete with its major rival.
Another player in this sector is NetEase, a smaller company that is responsible for many popular mobile and PC games in China.
With the bulk of Tencent’s profits derived from gaming, can it sustain itself in China’s gaming market?
"We think mobile games probably has the largest growth potential among all content types, including drama, movie, music, etc," says Liu Zhijing, an analyst of China media and internet at UBS Securities.
“This is because of mobile games’ interactive features and deeper player engagement.”
Lisa Cosmas Hanson, managing partner of Niko Partners, a market research and consultancy company focused on Asia's games market, estimates that China's mobile gaming revenue will surpass PC online gaming revenue this year.
“Mobile gaming revenue will in fact double from 2017 to 2022,” she says. “Our forecast for mobile gaming revenue in 2022 is $24.7bn, and our forecast for PC online gaming revenue in 2022 is $17.4bn.”
She attributes this growth to the increase in smartphone users, declines in the price of mobile data, the widening range of mobile games to attract more diverse users and the rise of mobile e-sports.
Of Tencent’s future, Ms Hanson says: “They have more than 40 per cent market share in China for PC and mobile games, they are constantly investing in more platforms and genres, including serious games and educational games, and they have invested in at least 50 companies globally, ranging from small ownership to 100 per cent ownership.”
“The company will certainly sustain profitability in gaming, though I suspect there will be variance in the profit margin from year to year.”But in one way, Tencent still has a way to go: “Tencent is global in its investments, but its brand recall is not yet global in the way Google or Facebook is known, which is a shame. This will change over time, I am sure,” says Mr Vajpayee.
500 People from Gaza enter France
115 Special programme for artists
25 Evacuation of injured and sick
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Mobile phone packages comparison
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
More on Quran memorisation:
more from Janine di Giovanni
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
Left Bank: Art, Passion and Rebirth of Paris 1940-1950
Agnes Poirer, Bloomsbury
BIO
Favourite holiday destination: Turkey - because the government look after animals so well there.
Favourite film: I love scary movies. I have so many favourites but The Ring stands out.
Favourite book: The Lord of the Rings. I didn’t like the movies but I loved the books.
Favourite colour: Black.
Favourite music: Hard rock. I actually also perform as a rock DJ in Dubai.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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RESULTS
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3E5pm%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EWathba%20Stallions%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh70%2C000%20(Turf)%202%2C200m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAl%20Hazeez%2C%20Saif%20Al%20Balushi%20(jockey)%2C%20Khalifa%20Al%20Neyadi%20(trainer)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E5.30pm%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EShams%20Gate%20Tower%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C200m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20ES%20Sudani%2C%20Antonio%20Fresu%2C%20Hamad%20Al%20Marar%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E6pm%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Al%20Bahr%20Towers%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C200m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20AF%20Musannef%2C%20Tadhg%20O%E2%80%99Shea%2C%20Ernst%20Oertel%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E6.30pm%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Capital%20Gate%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C600m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shugga'A%20Baynounah%2C%20Dane%20O%E2%80%99Neill%2C%20Nisren%20Mahgoub%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E7pm%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEtihad%20Towers%20%E2%80%93%20Conditions%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C600m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAF%20Maqam%2C%20Tadhg%20O%E2%80%99Shea%2C%20Ernst%20Oertel%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E7.30pm%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Fairmont%20Marina%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(TB)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C600m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETempesta%20D'Oro%2C%20Xavier%20Ziani%2C%20Salem%20bin%20Ghadayer%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre, six-cylinder
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 395bhp
Torque: 420Nm
Price: from Dh321,200
On sale: now
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Essentials
The flights
Return flights from Dubai to Windhoek, with a combination of Emirates and Air Namibia, cost from US$790 (Dh2,902) via Johannesburg.
The trip
A 10-day self-drive in Namibia staying at a combination of the safari camps mentioned – Okonjima AfriCat, Little Kulala, Desert Rhino/Damaraland, Ongava – costs from $7,000 (Dh25,711) per person, including car hire (Toyota 4x4 or similar), but excluding international flights, with The Luxury Safari Company.
When to go
The cooler winter months, from June to September, are best, especially for game viewing.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
The Bio
Favourite place in UAE: Al Rams pearling village
What one book should everyone read: Any book written before electricity was invented. When a writer willingly worked under candlelight, you know he/she had a real passion for their craft
Your favourite type of pearl: All of them. No pearl looks the same and each carries its own unique characteristics, like humans
Best time to swim in the sea: When there is enough light to see beneath the surface
