The vaguely worded order had triggered fears it would apply not only to Tencent’s messaging and payments services in the US but also to business relationships with some of America’s largest corporations. Tencent, ranked by Newzoo as the world’s biggest games publisher by revenue in 2019, collaborates with US industry leaders like Activision Blizzard Inc. and Electronics Arts Inc. It also holds a large stake in Fortnite maker Epic Games Inc. and owns League of Legends developer Riot Games Inc.
The Trump administration’s move to ban US residents from doing business with Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat app rippled through Chinese markets, erasing US$34.6 billion ($47.3 billion) from the Internet giant’s market value and sending the yuan to its biggest slump in two weeks.
The US president’s executive order added to investor concern that the deteriorating US-China relationship will weigh on companies, economies and markets. Initial confusion over the ban’s scope led to volatile trading on Friday, with Tencent plunging more than 10% during the morning session in Hong Kong. The stock pared losses to close down 5% after a US official clarified the ban will only cover WeChat.
