Buyback: Tencent YTD has repurchased HK$96.2 billion

As of November 26, 2024, Tencent has repurchased HK$96.2 billion in 24, which is close to reaching the target of the HK$100 billion share repurchase plan set in March. According to recent repurchase records, Tencent repurchased 1.78 million shares and 1.77 million shares on November 26 and 25, respectively, with an average repurchase price of 394.907 yuan and 396.677 yuan, respectively. As of 24Q4, Tencent has repurchased HK$7.9 billion. The overall buyback enthusiasm in the Hong Kong stock market is high. This year's repurchase amount has surpassed HK$200 billion, and Tencent occupies an important position in it. Tencent's repurchase plan not only stabilizes stock prices to a certain extent, but also shows the company's confidence in future development and the importance it attaches to shareholder value. Despite certain market fluctuations, Tencent's financial situation and future prospects are still worth looking forward to.

Gaming: China Bank of China Switch, which is an agent of Tencent, will be suspended in 2026. Recently, Tencent announced that it will gradually stop the Nintendo E Store and other network-related operation services from March 31, 2026 due to changes in business with third-party service providers that have been cooperating for a long time, affecting players' game downloads, updates, and online functions. To make up for user losses, Tencent launched a “Rewards Program” to provide redemption codes for four free games. As early as the fourth quarter of 2020, Tencent revealed that the Bank of China's Nintendo Switch sales exceeded 1 million units, but no specific sales volume has been disclosed since then, which may be due to factors such as market strategy adjustments, increased market competition, and information disclosure policies. Despite this, the partnership between Tencent and Nintendo continues, and the emphasis on user experience has been shown through the “Rewards Program.” Although this adjustment involves revenue, Tencent is not expected to have a negative impact on overall game revenue due to its diversified business layout and ongoing Evergreen Gaming strategy.

Fintech: Tenpay Microfinance, a subsidiary of Tencent, was approved with an ABN limit of 10 billion yuan. Shenzhen Tenpay Online Finance Microfinance Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Tencent, was successfully approved for asset backed note (ABN) products with a total amount of 10 billion yuan, leading many small loan companies. This move has not only significantly expanded the financing channels for Tenpay's small loans, effectively reduced financing costs, and boosted confidence in the full liberalization of Tencent's small loan business. Tencent's small loan business mainly includes products such as microloans and installment loans. Microfinance relies on Tencent's large user base to provide quick review and loan services, with flexible quotas and transparent interest rates. Installment provides a consumer installment service, and a “borrow money” function has been added, which allows users to borrow money based on specific spending records within the past month. Despite the recent slowdown in the growth rate of Tencent's fintech business, its consumer loan business still has huge potential for growth. Based on WeChat's huge number of active users, the ceiling for Tencent's consumer loan business is extremely high, and the loan balance is expected to reach trillion dollars in the future.

TME: QQ Music updates its pioneering feature in response to NetEase Cloud's accusation of copying QQ Music and NetEase Cloud Music recently got into a dispute. On November 25, NetEase Cloud Music's long article accused QQ Music of plagiarism in terms of player customization features, etc., saying that many features of QQ Music were similar to it, and even some of the features were “in the same vein.” Although the dispute between NetEase Cloud and QQ Music sparked a buzz, user feedback in the comments section was not as enthusiastic as expected. Many netizens said that both platforms have various problems, and the user experience is generally poor. In particular, users are disappointed in terms of increased advertisements and insufficient copyrighted music libraries.

On the 27th, QQ Music posted an article claiming that its “custom player” has been upgraded again, and that it has pioneered many gameplay methods in the industry, such as uploading live photos, which is suspected to be a response to NetEase Cloud Music's accusations. In the face of a highly homogenized music platform market, competition ultimately depends on who can gain share through stronger product strength, operational capabilities, and user stickiness.