Tencent is first Asian company to top US$500 billion in value, joining Apple and Facebook
A US$1,764 investment in Tencent’s 2004 initial public offering is now worth US$1 million.
The meteoric rise of Tencent Holdings can be illustrated in the outsize gains of its Hong Kong-listed shares, which have become a wealth generator of spectacular proportions for those fortunate enough to have bought in early.
In fact, US$1,764 invested in the company’s 2004 public offering would now be worth US$1 million, after taking a 2014 stock split into consideration, a 500-fold rise in the stock value of China’s largest game producer and social network operator.
Shares of the Chinese internet giant rose 4.12 per cent to close at HK$420 on Monday, lifting its market value to HK$3.99 trillion (US$511 billion), becoming the first Chinese tech firm to crack the US$500-billion threshold, a club that includes US tech giants such as Apple, Alphabet, Facebook and Microsoft.
In June 2004, when Tencent debuted on the Hong Kong stock market, it priced its share at HK$3.7 apiece, or HK$3,700 for a single board lot of 1,000 shares. Today, that 1,000 shares would be worth HK$2.1 million.
Tencent has gone so well that four of its executives are paid more than HK$300 million each, making them the highest paid executives in the city.