Tencent profits up on mobile gaming popularity

Chinese technology giant Tencent reported a profit boost Wednesday, helped by the continued popularity of its mobile games. Net profit for 2017 was up 74 percent year on year from 41.1 billion yuan to 71.5 billion yuan (US$11.3 billion). In a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Wednesday, the company counted its push to promote more sharing and interaction among users as a highlight for the past year. Monthly active users of China's ubiquitous WeChat social media platform has crossed the one billion mark after the Chinese New Year in February, said its parent company Tencent, as its messaging, game and shopping services attract more and more users. Tencent had reported that WeChat users had opened 980 million accounts in its last company results in September, before crossing the symbolic threshold last month. Entertainment features rolled out on its instant messaging platform QQ also "appealed to young users, driving their time spent on smart devices", the company said. Tecent's hit "Honour of Kings" became the most popular mobile game in China in terms of daily active users, it added. The company operates China's biggest messaging service WeChat through which a variety of businesses including gaming, advertising and social networking have flourished in recent years. Looking ahead, the company said it wanted to invest more aggressively and boost its competitiveness in areas such as online video, cloud services and artificial intelligence technologies. It would also continue developing its social platforms and enhance their connection with users' daily lives, the company said.