Tencent Beats in China Market
- Asian equities generally higher, Hong Kong and Mainland China fell on light summer volumes.
- US CPI awaited as US dollar weakened overnight.
- Tencent performed well in the Chinese market.
Tencent Holdings Limited has announced an 8% increase in revenue, reaching RMB 161.1 billion ($22.6 billion) for the latest quarter, slightly below analyst expectations of RMB 161.3 billion. The company's value-added services (VAS) revenue rose by 6% to RMB 78.8 billion, driven by a 9% increase in gaming revenue within China, totaling RMB 34.6 billion, and a 6% rise in international gaming revenue to RMB 13.9 billion. Additionally, revenue from FinTech and Business Services grew by 4% to RMB 50.4 billion. In a notable shift, bank loans, excluding loans to banks, decreased by RMB 77 billion ($10.7 billion) since June, marking the first decline since July 2005. This reduction is attributed to more debt being repaid than taken out, influenced by falling interest rates that make repaying older debt more appealing. The stock market reflected mixed results, with Tencent's shares down 1.27%, while China Mobile saw a modest increase of 1.39%. In Hong Kong, Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) experienced a significant drop of 18.13% despite beating analyst expectations, as a slight miss in new subscriber outlook led to investor sell-off. Meanwhile, US Treasury officials are set to meet with People's Bank of China representatives in Shanghai, as Southbound Stock Connect volumes remained low, with Mainland investors selling off $133 million in Hong Kong stocks. Overall, the Shanghai, Shenzhen, and STAR Board indices fell, with utilities and communication services showing some resilience, while sectors like materials and healthcare faced declines.