Chinese social media behemoth Tencent Holdings Ltd’s Chief Strategy Officer James Mitchell on Wednesday said a report that the company intends to sell all or much of its $24 billion stake in food delivery giant Meituan was incorrect.
A report from Reuters on Tuesday, citing four sources with knowledge of the matter, said that Tencent has engaged financial advisers in recent months on ways to sell a roughly 17% stake to appease regulators in Beijing that have been working to curb the influence of tech giants.
The report “is not accurate,” Mitchell told analysts on a post-earnings conference call.
Since last year Tencent has been disclosing plans to sell stakes in e-commerce giant JD.com Inc, as Beijing punishes the country’s tech giants for anti-competitive behavior, including maintaining closed ecosystems.
In Wednesday’s earnings report, the company reported that its revenue declined 3% to 134 billion yuan ($19.78 billion) for the three months ended June 30 from 138.3 billion yuan a year earlier, after online advertising sales fell by a record. It has fallen for two straight quarters, and analysts were anticipating the decline.
Picture Credit: CNA
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