Tencent was the first Chinese technology firm to exceed a $500 billion market capitalization.
Tencent passed the $500 billion valuation level in November 2017 as its Hong Kong-listed shares climbed. The milestone made Tencent one of the world’s largest technology companies and briefly placed it among a small group of firms valued at more than half a trillion dollars.
Founded in Shenzhen in 1998, Tencent first became widely known for instant-messaging products such as QQ. It later built a broad digital ecosystem around WeChat, online games, advertising, payments, cloud services, and investments in other technology companies.
Alibaba was another major Chinese technology company and had previously set important stock-market records, including the largest IPO at the time of its 2014 New York listing. Market-cap rankings between Tencent, Alibaba, and global technology companies have changed repeatedly because they depend on share prices, exchange rates, and investor confidence.