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Tencent CEO Pony Ma pledges support for northeastern Heilongjiang province’s development as Big Tech firms help drive economic recovery efforts

  • Tencent is assisting Heilongjiang’s development through a series of collaborations that include the digital economy, transport, energy and agriculture
  • CEO Pony Ma said Tencent’s co-working space has already helped incubate and foster the growth of more than 100 start-ups in the rust-belt province

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A bird’s-eye view of the city skyline in Harbin, capital of northeastern Heilongjiang province. Photo: Shutterstock
Ben Jiangin Beijing
Chinese video gaming and social media giant Tencent Holdings has pledged to strengthen support for development initiatives in northeastern Heilongjiang province, one of the country’s less-developed areas, in another sign that Big Tech companies are answering Beijing’s call to help bolster the nation’s economic recovery efforts.
That commitment was made by Pony Ma Huateng, co-founder, chairman and chief executive of Tencent, in his speech before a business forum jointly organised by the provincial governments of Heilongjiang and Guangdong on April 22 in the southern tech hub of Shenzhen.
The 52-year-old Ma – China’s second-richest person, with a net worth of US$39 billion, according to the latest Hurun Report – said Tencent is assisting Heilongjiang’s development through a series of collaborations covering areas that include the digital economy, transport, energy and agriculture.
He said Tencent’s co-working space has already helped incubate and foster the growth of more than 100 start-ups in Heilongjiang, which borders Russia and ranked as the Chinese province with the second-lowest gross domestic product per capita of 51,096 yuan (US$7,407) in 2022, according to data from Statista.
Tencent Holdings co-founder, chairman and chief executive Pony Ma Huateng said the firm’s co-working space has already helped incubate and foster the growth of more than 100 start-ups in northeastern Heilongjiang province. Photo: Reuters
Tencent Holdings co-founder, chairman and chief executive Pony Ma Huateng said the firm’s co-working space has already helped incubate and foster the growth of more than 100 start-ups in northeastern Heilongjiang province. Photo: Reuters

In addition, Tencent has initiated cooperation with the province to address issues such as food security, supersized city governance and the ageing society, Ma said.

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