Advanced Television

Naspers dragged down by Tencent

August 15, 2018

Shares in Naspers, the South African media group that owns nearly a third of Tencent, fell as much as 10 per cent after the Chinese internet company posted a dip in profits.

Tencent said that profit in the second quarter was RMB 17.9 billion (€2.3bn), down 2 per cent year-on-year and missing expectations of RMB 19.3 billion. Sales of RMB 73 billion were also below analyst estimates. Naspers’ Johannesburg-listed shares pared losses to 7.5 per cent.

Tencent became Asia’s first ever company to exceed $500 billion in market value last year, but so far in 2018, $150 billion has been wiped off its shares, as concerns rise about future growth. The company also bore the brunt of fears that the US and China may escalate a trade war. Naspers is largely seen as a Tencent proxy given its stake. In March Naspers sold some of its Tencent shares for the first time, raising over $10 billion. Naspers said it would invest the cash in its portfolio of other emerging-market tech bets.

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