The Secret Chinese Company That Owns Everything

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Who here is familiar with Tencent? When discussing the world’s most valuable companies, names like Apple, Microsoft, and Google unsurprisingly pop up.

However, Tencent stands out amidst these giants. Surpassing Exxon, MasterCard, and Samsung in value, Tencent remains an enigma to many, often greeted with puzzled expressions when mentioned.

The truth is, Tencent is a juggernaut in disguise.

While its mascot is a congenial penguin, a more fitting representation would be a colossal octopus, its tentacles extending into nearly every conceivable industry globally.

In many regions, Tencent works behind the scenes, which explains its relative obscurity. However, unknowingly, most of us engage with products or services under Tencent’s vast umbrella.

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In China, Tencent’s presence is overt and all-encompassing

It has achieved what seems miraculous — a single app that rules all aspects of life.

Tencent is a force to be reckoned with, especially due to WeChat.

In China, living without WeChat is almost unthinkable.

It’s integral to everyday life, encompassing banking, gaming, shopping, social media, and more. It’s as vital as water or electricity.

Tencent’s WeChat, often referred to as the ‘everything app’ or China’s ‘operating system,’ is crucial for China’s 1.4 billion population, who use it for an average of four hours daily.

That’s more than the average American’s total daily social media usage.

WeChat is essentially an amalgamation of various apps — Facebook, PayPal, WhatsApp, Netflix, Google, Spotify, Uber, Yelp, Tinder, Zoom, YouTube, Deliveroo, Amazon, and more, all in a single application.

The convenience of this integration is undeniable.

However, the idea of one company accessing all your data, from location to banking history, to every message and call, raises concerns.

More alarming is the blurred line between Tencent and the Chinese government, granting the Chinese Communist Party access to this information.

This makes WeChat one of the most potent surveillance tools ever devised.

The Chinese government’s control over WeChat extends to monitoring and censorship

Private communications through Tencent’s apps, like WeChat, are scanned for content needing censorship.

The best-case scenario for dissent is undelivered messages; the worst-case is imprisonment or disappearance.

For example, a citizen was jailed for a harmless joke about a government official.

This level of surveillance seems almost encouraged by the CCP, as a deterrent against dissent, confirmed by their admission of accessing deleted WeChat conversations without user consent.

While surveillance by governments using technology is not exclusive to China, the scale and intensity in China are unparalleled.

Amnesty International, focusing on human rights, conducted a study on how messaging apps handle data.

Tencent emerged as the most egregious offender, scoring zero out of a hundred for data treatment.

This is attributed to a lack of transparency in data handling and their unapologetic cooperation with the CCP in accessing encrypted messages.

While ties to the CCP are essential for Chinese companies to thrive, Tencent’s case is unique in its monopoly over various industries and its use of harsh tactics to eliminate competition, all without regulatory interference.

However, this freedom comes at a price, turning Tencent into a tool for the Chinese government.

Tencent’s influence extends beyond China

With their vision to ‘connect people and everything,’ they have embarked on a global expansion.

Tencent has invested in companies like Reddit, Tesla, Discord, Spotify, Snapchat, and Universal Music, to name a few.

Their dominance is particularly evident in gaming, where they own or have stakes in major studios and popular games worldwide, making their gaming division alone larger than entire companies like Nintendo or EA.

Tencent’s reach isn’t limited to gaming; their payment division rivals PayPal, and they are heavily involved in other sectors like music, esports, and even Hollywood movies.

As Tencent’s influence grows globally, concerns arise about China using Tencent as a tool for international influence.

Multiple governments, including the U.S. and India, have labeled WeChat a security threat.

Tencent’s story is complex, with elements of incredible business success, controversy, and political intrigue.

Tencent’s history reveals a multifaceted empire, influential yet seldom discussed.

The story of Tencent is not just about a corporate giant; it’s about the intersection of business, technology, and politics on a global scale.

Sincerely,

The Pareto Investor

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