Tencent became the first Asian company valued at more than $500 billion.
Tencent crossed the $500 billion market-capitalization threshold in November 2017 as its Hong Kong-listed shares rose. The milestone placed the company among the world’s largest publicly traded technology businesses and made it the first Asian company to pass that valuation.
Tencent was founded in 1998 by Ma Huateng and four co-founders. Its products include WeChat, an important messaging and mobile-services platform, as well as online games, digital payments, cloud services, and media businesses.
The distinction concerns market capitalization, not annual sales or total economic output. Tencent’s valuation has moved above and below particular thresholds over time because market capitalization changes with the share price and the number of shares outstanding.