Tencent’s investment arm gets a new website as influential unit readies for more deals in 2020
- The new website discloses that Tencent Investment is led by the department is led by Jeffrey Li Zhaohui
The traditionally low profile investment unit of China internet giant Tencent Holdings has thrown more light on its complicated web of investments and core team with a newly-launched website, as it readies to scour the market for more deals amid fallout from the global health pandemic.
The new website of Tencent Investment, which was founded in 2008 and has made over 800 investment deals, discloses that the department is led by Jeffrey Li Zhaohui, a key player in Tencent’s earlier acquisition of Finnish mobile gaming group Supercell.
Li, managing partner at Tencent Investment and vice-president at Tencent Holdings, is mainly responsible for investments in games and social media, the core business of the tech giant. Investment partner Zhan Weibiao, five managing directors and four executive directors complete the management team.
Tencent Holdings in March co-led a US$300 million funding round in Beijing-based big data and artificial intelligence (AI) company MiningLamp Technology, which has been called “China’s Palantir”. The deal is highlighted on the homepage of the new website together with other notable investments the unit has made, such as in food delivery app Meituan Dianping, streaming video operator Bilibili and China's Quora-like service Zhihu.
Besides gaming and social media, Tencent’s investments now cover artificial intelligence, consumer retail, education, financial technology and corporate services and beyond. The influential investor has built investments in Chinese bubble tea chain HeyTea, Chinese talent agency Wajijiwa Entertainment, US record label Universal Music Group and Chinese low-cost retail chain Miniso, according to information on the new website.
And Tencent’s investment arm has not been slowed by the global Covid-19 health crisis, which has sickened millions and led to lockdowns and social distancing.
It made 17 investments in the first quarter of 2020 in China, just behind venture capital firm Sequoia China, including an investment in online education platform Yuanfudao, according to Chinese research firm IT Juzi. In April, Tencent paid US$262.6 million in cash to Nasdaq-listed social media company JOYY to take a controlling stake in Huya, one of China’s largest game live-streaming platforms.
Tencent sees investment potential in health care, security, tourism, and elderly care services on expectations that people will pay much greater attention to quality of life issues once the global health crisis starts to subside, said Li Zhaohui in a WeChat statement earlier this month.
“In the post-pandemic era, consumer psychology and behaviour will see great change,” Li said in the WeChat statement.