Tencent shareholders added $7.6bn in shares to Hong Kong’s clearing and settlement system, prompting speculation that its biggest shareholder, South African group Naspers, was selling part of its 29 per cent stake.The move comes two months after Prosus, the company’s Amsterdam-listed international investment arm, abandoned its pledge not to sell stock in Tencent, one of China’s most valuable companies.
Global investors are cutting their holdings in Chinese technology stocks following a government crackdown and regulatory onslaught that has bruised the sector. The S&P China Tech 50 index, which tracks the 50 largest Chinese companies in the sector, is down 36 per cent over the past 12 months.
SoftBank sold the bulk of its stake in Alibaba in August, while Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has lowered its holdings in Chinese electric carmaker BYD.