Tencent is the Chinese technology company, founded in 1998, that operates WeChat and is listed in Hong Kong under ticker 0700.
Tencent was founded by Pony Ma, Zhang Zhidong, Xu Cheney, Chen Yidan, and Zeng Liqing. Its first major product was an instant-messaging service, but the company developed into a broad internet group with social media, gaming, digital payments, cloud services, music, and online advertising.
WeChat, known as Weixin in mainland China, combines messaging with social, payment, commerce, and service features. Tencent’s gaming operations and large digital ecosystem have made it one of Asia’s most valuable listed technology companies by market capitalization.
Tencent’s Hong Kong listing is commonly shown as 0700 or 700, depending on the market-data format. It should not be confused with Alibaba, another major Chinese technology company with a different corporate history and stock listing.