Chinese social media and gaming group Tencent has increased share repurchases to spend more than $3 billion this year as the company’s stock price plumbs four-year lows, reports the Financial Times. The Shenzhen-based company has focused on returning cash to shareholders with its outlook dented by China’s sagging economy and leader Xi Jinping’s crackdown on gaming.
The Chinese group increased its buyback outlays to about HK$600 million ($76 million) a day last week, a pace which if maintained could hit HK$90 billion next year, on par with the buyback program at rival Alibaba, according to estimates from analysts at Bernstein.
The repurchases are part of a strategic shift for the Chinese tech giant. Beijing’s antitrust scrutiny of its aggressive domestic dealmaking has slowed its huge investment outlays, which had previously consumed extra capital.