Tencent CEO praises China’s economic ‘resilience’, hails overseas gaming revenues

CEO Pony Ma spoke of China’s economic resilience and the entrepreneurship of local businesses, echoing praise he gave Beijing last month

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Tencent CEO Pony Ma, who rarely speaks in public these days, at the opening of the World Internet Conference (WIC) in Wuzhen, Zhejiang, November 7, 2018. Photo: Reuters

Ann Caoin Shanghai

Published: 5:31pm, 14 Jan 2025Updated: 5:32pm, 14 Jan 2025

Pony Ma Huateng, founder and CEO of Tencent Holdings, said in his annual address to employees that he was confident in China’s economic prospects and pleased with the growth of the company’s video game revenue in overseas markets.

The low-profile Ma, who rarely speaks in public, built Tencent from scratch into a tech behemoth in media, video gaming and payment services.

According to excerpts of the speech seen by the Post, Ma talked about China’s economic resilience and the entrepreneurship of Chinese businesses, echoing the praise he gave Beijing’s economic policies last month in a commentary published by China’s official newspaper People’s Daily.

Video clips and summaries of Ma’s speech, delivered to employees at a stadium in Shenzhen where the company is based, were shared on Chinese social media on Tuesday. One clip showed Tencent executives, led by Ma, singing in front of employees.

Tencent headquarters in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. Photo: AFP

In reviewing the company’s sprawling business empire, Ma gave an upbeat assessment, saying Tencent had “bottomed out” and enjoyed a bright future as the company has “the talent, the technologies, and the market demand”. Ma encouraged employees to work together to overcome future challenges.