Tencent was the first publicly traded Asian internet company to reach a $500 billion market capitalization.
Tencent crossed the $500 billion threshold in November 2017 as its Hong Kong-listed shares rose strongly. The milestone reflected investor enthusiasm for the company's huge ecosystem of messaging, gaming, payments and online services.
Tencent's WeChat platform became central to its business in China, while its gaming division developed and published major titles. The company also holds investments in many technology and entertainment businesses.
Tencent's valuation is often compared with Alibaba's because both are major Chinese technology companies, but their business mixes differ. Tencent is especially associated with social communication and gaming, whereas Alibaba is best known for e-commerce and cloud computing.