Chinese social and gaming giant Tencent reported surging revenue on Thursday, playing down the growing threat from domestic regulators that are increasingly signalling their intention to rein in Big Tech’s power.
This month, Beijing suspended fintech leader Ant Group’s $37bn initial public offering amid tightening regulations, while this week it unveiled a set of antitrust guidelines for the internet industry, marking its first major push to curb monopolistic practices in the sector.
However, Tencent’s president Martin Lau played down the potential impact of the regulations, suggesting they would hurt competitors in the ecommerce space more directly. “As technology companies become bigger and more important to the economy . . . more regulations reflect the new reality,” said Mr Lau. “We thrive on competition.”