Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings announced on Sunday its first restructuring in six years, done at a time it faces increased challenges from tighter government regulations.
The reshuffle comes as Tencent Holdings, which has seen a hefty fall in market value this year, is facing fresh criticism from analysts and investors unnerved by regulatory roadblocks, a fuzzy overseas strategy and growing debt.
The gaming and social media firm is one of a number of Chinese internet companies whose prospects are in question after years of spectacular growth.
The Shenzhen-based and Hong Kong-listed company said in Sunday’s statement that it will consolidate three content business groups to one unit and create a new group for cloud and smart industries. The move is seen at improving cloud-based data offering services for corporate clients, which rival Alibaba Group dominates in China, and boosting its content offering capabilities for a wide range of services such as WeChat, music, games and other entertainments. Tencent will “further explore the integration of social, content and technology that is more suitable for future trends, and promote the upgrade from consumer internet to industrial internet”, it added. The company said it will also set up a technology committee to help strengthen its research and development and promote collaboration and innovation.
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Founded in 1998, Tencent enjoyed uninterrupted growth from when it went public in 2004 until this year. Its shares surged more than 88 times after its IPO, and its market value hit a peak of $578 billion in January this year.
On Friday, Tencent shares in Hong Kong closed at HK$323.20, compared with HK$406 at the end of 2017. The company’s biggest money-maker is gaming. However, its most popular game this year is PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Mobile (PUBG Mobile), and Chinese authorities have yet to approve the in-game purchases that allow Tencent to make money.
Hit by China’s intensified crackdown on online gaming, Tencent has reported its first quarterly profit fall in nearly 13 years.
The main business of Tencent is video games but the company also runs China’s dominant social network, WeChat, with more than 1 billion users.
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
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JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
Company%20Profile
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