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Tencent

Chinese technology business established in 1998, connected to South African business history through the Naspers group’s investment and the later Prosus structure.

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Tencent Binhai Mansion in Shenzhen, with glass towers, connecting bridges and construction cranes.
Tencent Binhai Mansion in Shenzhen on 30 October 2016, with construction cranes visible. File photograph, not the 2001 investment. Resized and converted to WebP without cropping. Photo: Wishva de Silva / Wikimedia Commons · Source · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and converted to WebP without cropping. Adaptation available under the same licence.

Tencent is a technology company headquartered in Shenzhen, China. Its official company page dates its establishment to 1998. It is included here because the Naspers group’s investment became a significant connection between South African capital and China’s internet industry. [4][1]

History

The Naspers group invested in Tencent in May 2001, according to Naspers’s 2004 regulatory filing. That filing records R266 million in cash purchase consideration, including directly attributable costs, and subsequent funding of R8 million. These amounts describe separate historical payments. [1]

The international investment relationship later sat within the Prosus structure. Prosus’s annual report classifies Tencent as an associate rather than a controlled subsidiary. A significant equity investment is not the same as founding the investee or owning all its shares. [3][2]

Products and operations

Tencent’s official page describes communications, interactive entertainment, cloud technology and services for businesses. Its business-group structure includes engineering and infrastructure work alongside consumer products. These operations belong to the investee, not simply to the South African shareholder’s management organisation. [4]

A dated stake, not a permanent percentage

Prosus reported a Tencent stake of 22.66% at 31 March 2026 in financial-statement note 6(j). The report describes partial share sales and Tencent’s concurrent repurchases. Both affect how a stake percentage changes over time. [2]

The same note records US$6.5 billion of Tencent share-sale proceeds for the financial year, used to fund group repurchases. The figure is neither Tencent revenue nor a purchase price for the entire company. It describes the investor’s disposals. [2]

Frequently asked questions

Is Tencent a South African company?

No. Tencent identifies Shenzhen, China, as its headquarters. Its South African connection here is an investment relationship. [4][1]

Did the Naspers investment create Tencent?

No. Tencent dates its establishment to 1998, before the investment recorded in May 2001. [4][1]

Is Tencent wholly owned by Prosus?

No. Prosus reported a 22.66% stake at 31 March 2026 and classified Tencent as an associate. [2]

Key milestones

  1. Company establishment recorded by Tencent. [4]

  2. Naspers group investment recorded in its later regulatory filing. [1]

  3. Prosus’s primary listing began, creating a separate listed route to international investments. [2][3]

  4. Prosus reported its Tencent stake as 22.66% in note 6(j). [2]

Related articles

Related institutions

  • Naspers — South African group incorporated in 1915, transformed through internet investment and retaining voting control of separately listed Prosus.
  • Prosus — Separately listed international internet group controlled by Naspers through voting rights, with an economic interest that differs from voting power.

Sources

  1. Naspers / US Securities and Exchange Commission, Naspers Form 20-F 2004: corporate history and May 2001 Tencent acquisition, pages 15 and 87, 2004-09-30. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-17. ↩
  2. Prosus, Annual Report 2026: governance page 41 and financial statements note 6(j). Original source. Accessed 2026-10-17. ↩
  3. Prosus, Group structure: listing, exchange offer, repurchases and removal of cross-holding. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-17. ↩
  4. Tencent, Who we are: establishment, headquarters and business groups. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-17. ↩