Tencent Replaces Alibaba as Highest Valued Company in the HKSE as its Shares Hit Record High

Tencent stock hit a new high today as the share price exceeded HK$480 for the first time in two years.

As the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) shut down for lunch break this morning, Tencent’s shares soared 4.05% and closed at HK$493.4, which has pushed its market cap to around HK$4.71 trillion, surpassing Alibaba and snatching the top spot in the HKSE.

From HK$324.3 per share on March 19, Tencent’s share price has jumped more than 51%, and its market value has increased by HK$$1.4 trillion, which is equivalent to the combined value of Meituan Dianping and Xiaomi.

The net worth of Tencent CEO Ma Huateng, also known as Pony Ma, has risen to $54.8 billion. Ma solidifies his position as China’s richest man and now ranks 14th in the world. It is worth noting that Ma unloaded 9.65 million shares of Tencent stock for four consecutive days from June 9 to 12, reducing his shareholding in the company from 8.52% to 8.42%.

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The strong performance on the stock market can be attributed to Tencent’s excellent earning report in the first quarter. Q1 revenue and net profit beat market expectation by rising 26% and 29% year-on-year. Revenues from social media, advertising, financial technology and corporate services, and games all grew by over 20%. Particularly, revenue from online games increased 31% to around 37.3 billion yuan, with growth mostly from hit mobile games such as Honor of Kings, Peacekeeper Elite, PUBG Mobile and Clash of Clans.