US President Donald Trump has issued an executive order banning US transactions involving Chinese social media and video game leader Tencent Holdings, owner of messaging app WeChat, on national security grounds.
US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is set to identify transactions covered by the order, which starts in 45 days.
Below is a list of some of Tencent’s biggest US and international investments:
United States
Tesla: Tencent bought 5 percent of the electric vehicle maker for $1.78 billion (roughly Rs. 13,341 crores) in 2017. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has called Tencent “an investor and adviser to Tesla.”
Riot Games: Tencent bought a majority stake in the Los Angeles-based League of Legends game developer in 2011 and made it fully owned in 2015.
Activision Blizzard: Tencent has a minority stake in the owner of the Call of Duty franchise. Tencent last year launched Call of Duty Mobile and has seen 45 million downloads in the United States, Tower Sensor data showed.
Epic Games: Tencent acquired a minority stake in 2012.
Snap: Tencent bought 12 percent of the messaging app operator in 2017.
Reddit: The social media platform raised $300 million (roughly Rs. 2,248 crores) in 2019 in a funding round led by Tencent resulting in a market valuation of $3 billion (roughly Rs. 22,488 crores).
International
Spotify Technology: The Swedish music streaming firm and Tencent Music Entertainment Group bought minority stakes in each other ahead of the former’s 2018 stock market listing in New York.
Universal Music Group: French media conglomerate Vivendi SA in 2019 said it had finalised the sale of 10 percent of the world’s largest music label to a Tencent-led consortium, which also had the option to buy up to 10 percent more by January 2021 on the same price basis. The deal gave Tencent more access to US artists such as Taylor Swift and Kanye West.
US listed firms: Tencent owns stakes in Bilibili, Sogou, Huya, Douyu International Holdings, JD.com, Pinduoduo, Vipshop Holdings, Nio, and Futu Holdings.
© Thomson Reuters 2020
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