Tencent Holdings Limited is the leading Internet and technology company in China and one of the most successful conglomerates in the worldwide high-tech industry. The company has developed from a single Internet instant messaging service to a wide range of life-changing Internet-related services offered both in China and globally. This entry reviews the development of and services offered by Tencent and then discusses its influence on society and the market.

Development

Tencent’s founder, Ma Huateng, now the chairman and chief executive officer, started the company with his friends in November 1998 over an Internet instant messaging software called OICQ. The OICQ, later formally changed to QQ in 2000, quickly became popular, garnering more than 1 million registered users by 1999.

Under Ma’s leadership as chief executive officer and ...

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