Tencent, Sina post third-quarter results

Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings (0700.HKG) posted a 14% rise in profits to US$386 million for the third quarter, missing analyst estimates, The Wall Street Journal reported. Revenue rose for internet services and online games, but profit growth was held back by maturing products and a slowdown in the growth of internet users in China. The company promoted its new smartphone messaging service Weixin during a conference call to investors Wednesday, saying the service will target residents of first-tier cities and stoke future growth. Meanwhile, competitor Sina (SINA.NASDAQ) posted a third-quarter loss of US$336 million, but reported that its user base grew to 227 million, up 21% from the previous quarter. Sina and Tencent compete on multiple platforms including in offering Twitter-like services, termed “Weibo” in Chinese.