Tencent was the first Asian company to surpass a $500 billion market capitalization.
Tencent crossed the $500 billion threshold in November 2017, becoming one of the world’s most valuable publicly traded companies. Its growth was supported by the popularity of WeChat, online games and digital services in China and internationally.
Tencent was founded in 1998 by Ma Huateng, Zhang Zhidong and other co-founders. WeChat developed from a messaging service into a broad platform offering payments, media, commerce and other functions, while Tencent’s gaming division became one of the largest in the world.
The milestone is sometimes confused with later trillion-dollar records achieved by companies in the United States and Saudi Arabia. Tencent’s market capitalization has fluctuated with technology-sector sentiment, Chinese regulatory policy and the performance of its games and advertising businesses.