Tencent Holdings (0700.HK) can’t seem to catch a break nowadays.
Just until late last month, shares in the owner of popular messaging app WeChat had been on a slow recovery path from a March low that was reached amid broad selloffs in Chinese technology stocks sparked by a prolonged regulatory crackdown on the sector. A shift in Beijing’s stance to support the platform economy since March has drawn a collective sigh of relief from Tencent and other Chinese tech companies, helping lift their shares.
But then, last Monday, Tencent said that its largest shareholder, Naspers (NPN.JNB), a South African group specializing in investment in technology companies, decided to sell down the stake in the Chinese tech giant it owns through subsidiary Prosus (PRX.AMS). And just like that, Tencent shares skidded 11% last week.