Update | Has Tencent lost its creative mojo? Essay sparks heated online debate in China
Online debate ignites over whether Chinese tech giant is focused too much on investments and not enough on product development
An online essay criticising Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings for driving growth these days through investments rather than original innovation has sparked a heated debate in China, with rival technology company CEOs weighing in to voice their opinions.
The essay, published by a WeChat media group called Luan Fa Shu and titled “Has Tencent lost its dream?”, was read more than 100,000 times over the weekend.
“Tencent is becoming an investment company … Its strength is not developing products but [rather] investment skill,” according to the essay, which was written by Pan Luan, a former editor at local Chinese tech media Huxiu.
“Tencent has not made great products in some core areas such as search, e-commerce, information streaming, short video and cloud,” he wrote.
Tencent’s products dominate the country’s internet and media landscape, including instant-messaging software service QQ and social media platform WeChat, which recently topped 1 billion monthly active users. The Shenzhen-based firm has been expanding into different sectors including e-commerce and automobiles, with analysts attributing its investment strategy as a key factor behind its 10-fold increase in market valuation since 2011.
Several of China’s tech CEOs weighed in on the debate. “It is good to have this piece. Concerns and scepticism will make the world better,” said Yao Jinbo, chief executive officer of 58.com, a major Chinese online marketplace.