It spooked investors already on edge after Beijing came down hard on online industries from e-commerce to ride-hailing, triggering a global selloff of Chinese shares that at one point surpassed $1 trillion. Nervous investors continue to reevaluate their holdings as they ponder the longer-term ramifications of a crackdown on firms from Jack Ma’s Ant Group Co. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to Tencent-backed Meituan and Didi Global Inc.
Tencent Holdings dived as much as 10% Tuesday after an offshoot of China’s official news agency decried the “spiritual opium” and “electronic drugs” of games, stoking fears Beijing will next set its sights on online entertainment.
The social media giant joined rivals NetEase Inc. and XD Inc. in an abrupt selloff in early Hong Kong trading after an outlet run by the Xinhua News Agency published a blistering critique of the gaming industry. The Economic Information Daily cited a student as saying some schoolmates played Tencent’s Honor of Kings – one of its most popular titles – eight hours a day and called for stricter controls over time spent on games.
