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Tencent
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Tencent plays catch-up in cloud computing services as video gaming business slows

  • The internet giant capped 2018 with a quarterly profit that missed analysts’ estimates
  • Its cloud business aims to customise services for various industries, including retail and financial services

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Pony Ma Huateng, the founder, chairman and chief executive of Tencent Holdings speaks at the opening of the 5th World Internet Conference held at Wuzhen, in eastern China's Zhejiang province, in November last year. Photo: Simon Song
Iris DengandCelia Chen

Tencent Holdings, operator of China’s biggest social media and video gaming businesses, said it will step up investments in cloud computing for industries, heating up its rivalry with e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding in that growing online services market segment.

Shenzhen-based Tencent said its cloud computing operations will be the vehicle on which its data analytics, artificial intelligence and security systems can be customised for industries such as retail, financial services, transport, health care and education.

“We not only expect the cloud business to contribute to company revenue, but also serve as the platform connecting the consumer internet and industrial internet,” said Tencent founder, chairman and chief executive Pony Ma Huateng in a press conference on Thursday.

The company’s sharpened focus on cloud computing would intensify its rivalry with Alibaba Group Holding, whose subsidiary Alibaba Cloud is the largest public cloud services provider in China.

Alibaba Cloud had a 43 per cent share of China’s public cloud services market in the first half of last year, followed by Tencent with an 11.2 per cent share, China Telecom with 7.4 per cent and Amazon Web Services (AWS) with 6.9 per cent, according to data from research firm IDC.

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