Tencent became the first Asian internet company to reach a $500 billion market capitalization in 2017.
Tencent passed the $500 billion mark in November 2017 as its shares rose on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The Chinese company’s businesses included social networking, online games, digital payments, advertising, and cloud services.
Its flagship products, WeChat and QQ, gave Tencent a huge user base in China and supported a broad digital ecosystem. Tencent’s gaming division also became one of the world’s largest through both internally developed titles and investments in other game publishers.
Alibaba is a frequent mix-up because it is another giant Chinese technology company with a Hong Kong listing and a U.S. depositary listing. Tencent’s 2017 milestone specifically concerned an Asian internet company reaching $500 billion in market value.