Tencent, NetEase shares rebound after China regulator’s assurance on new online gaming rules

 

A mobile phone is displaying the screen of Tencent Games company's stock plunge in Suqian, Jiangsu Province, China, on December 22, 2023.
A mobile phone is displaying the screen of Tencent Games company’s stock plunge in Suqian, Jiangsu Province, China, on December 22, 2023.
Costfoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Chinese online gaming stocks rose Wednesday, recovering some losses from the previous session after the country’s top gaming regulator pledged to “further modify and improve” draft rules aimed at curbing excessive online gaming and spending.

On Saturday, China’s National Press and Publication Administration also vowed in a WeChat statement to “carefully study” the concerns of stakeholders — a day after fresh rules that it proposed sank the Hong Kong-listed shares of Tencent, NetEase and Bilibili.

The regulator, which also controls the publication of new games in the world’s largest online gaming market, then said Monday that it approved more than 100 new domestic games, after saying Friday that it approved 40 imported games.

“We believe these fire-quenching measures may help to slightly ease market concerns, but they are not enough to remove the overhang caused by the draft regulation,” Nomura analysts said in a Tuesday note.

On Wednesday, NetEase shares surged as much as 14% in early trading as Hong Kong markets returned from the Christmas holidays. NetEase eventually ended Wednesday up 11.9%. The stock had plunged about 25% on Friday.

hide content
NetEase Inc
*Data is delayed | Exchange | HKD
136.50quote price arrow up+14.50 (+11.89%)
Last | 4:08 PM CTT
NetEase shares in Hong Kong

Rival Tencent climbed 4% on Wednesday after shedding more than $43 billion in market value in Friday’s rout. Bilibili, a social media site that derived 17.1% of its total third-quarter net revenue from Chinese domestic gaming, jumped 6.7%. Its shares had tumbled about 10% on Friday.

Wednesday’s rebound in share prices though only recouped a fraction of the steep losses recorded Friday, before Hong Kong markets closed for a four-day Christmas long weekend.

Lingering concerns

In its statement on Saturday, China’s top online gaming regulator said it would further solicit the opinions of the various stakeholders to “further modify and improve” the draft rules released, specifically mentioning Articles 17 and 18 in the document that was released Friday.

In effect, these two articles underscore a key aim to prohibit incentivizing daily sign-ins for games, among other revenue-generating practices.

hide content
Tencent Holdings Ltd
*Data is delayed | Exchange | HKD
285.00quote price arrow up+11.00 (+4.01%)
Last | 4:08 PM CTT
Tencent Holdings shares in Hong Kong

These two articles would ban online games from forcing players into duels with other players, while also requiring owners of online games to abstain from providing or condoning high-value or expensive transactions in virtual entities whether by auction or speculative activity, among other things.

Daily login rewards would also be banned, while recharging limits must be imposed with pop-up warnings issued to users who display “irrational consumption behavior,” the National Press and Publication Administration said in the draft rules.

These latest draft rules come as the broader China technology industry was just emerging from a broader crackdown that started in late 2020.

— CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng contributed to this story.

Nhận xét

Đăng nhận xét

Bài đăng phổ biến từ blog này

White House prepares for Taiwan presidential elections and ‘period of higher tension’

Hình ảnh
  U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping before a meeting during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ week in Woodside, California, Nov. 15, 2023. Brendan Smialowski | Afp | Getty Images The  Biden  administration doubled down on its support for Taiwan’s democratic process ahead of a presidential election on the island that will serve as a bellwether of mainland China’s creeping influence over  Taiwan , which China claims as its territory. A senior Chinese liaison to Taiwan  warned  recently that Saturday’s  election  would be a choice between “peace and war.” Beijing has also cautioned Washington not to get involved. The election results will have ripple effects on geopolitics and global trade. Depending on the outcome, they could also trigger an increase in Chinese military activity in and around the island. The White House is preparing for several different outcomes. “Anytime we’re heading into a period of higher te...
Đọc thêm

World shatters heat record for the second time in just two days

Hình ảnh
  A worker, called ‘torchers’, works in a charcoal production during scorching heat exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in Diyarbakir, Turkiye on July 18, 2024. Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images The world registered its hottest day on record for the second time in just two days, according to the  latest data  compiled by the European Union’s climate monitor. The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said on Wednesday that the global average surface temperature climbed to 17.15 degrees Celsius (62.87 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday — eclipsing the previous record of 17.09 degrees Celsius,  which had been set on Sunday . C3S, which has been tracking the daily global mean temperature since 1940, said Sunday’s record had already shown “we are now in truly uncharted territory.” The EU’s climate monitor has warned that new temperature records are inevitable as the planet keeps warming. Scientists have  repeatedly  called for urgent and rapid reductions in greenhouse...
Đọc thêm

Asia markets mixed as China leaves loan rates unchanged; U.S. debt ceiling talks to resume

Hình ảnh
  is is CNBC’s live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) building in Beijing, China, on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Monday after the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima concluded and  talks on the debt ceiling are slated to resume  in the U.S. Hong Kong’s  Hang Seng index  rose 0.16%, while the Hang Seng Tech index also rose 0.39%. In mainland China, the  Shanghai Composite  slid 0.15% and the  Shenzhen Component  was 0.44% lower as the People’s Bank of China left its 1-year and 5-year loan prime rates unchanged. South Korea’s  Kospi  reversed earlier losses earlier and gained 0.78%, and the Kosdaq rose 0.8%. Japan’s markets also erased earlier losses, with the  Nikkei 225  gaining 0.11% and the Topix rising 0.14% following its outperformance last week. In Australia, the  S&P/ASX 200  was 0.25% lower. TICKER...
Đọc thêm