Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings has become the most valuable company in Asia, beating out state-owned telecom China Mobile and entering the realm of the world's top 10.
The company's shares closed 4.16 per cent higher at HK$210.20 in Hong Kong stock on Monday, lifting its market capitalization to HK$1.99 trillion (US$256.6 billion). Tencent's share was quoted at HK$213.80, up 1.7 per cent in mid-morning trade on Tuesday.
Fellow Chinese tech and e-commerce giant Alibaba which is listed in New York was traded at US$99.25 on Friday, bringing its capitalization to US$245.5 billion.
Tencent's valuation surpasses China Mobile, which at HK$97 per share, amounts to a market capitalization of HK$1.97 trillion.
The gains elevate Tencent into the leagues of the world's 10 most valuable public companies, in line with Apple and Alphabet.
More from the South China Morning Post :
Hong Kong directors' trades take spotlight in week of heavy insider activity
China's Tencent invests in India's WhatsApp rival Hike
China's Tencent reports higher than expected second quarter profit on smartphone games revenue
Tencent shares have jumped by over 40 per cent this year, surpassing a roughly 20 per cent advance in the Hang Seng Index. The share jumped nearly 9 per cent after the company reported net profit soared 47 per cent to 10.74 billion yuan for the three months through June.
Founded in November 1998 by Ma Huateng, Tencent has grown into one of China's largest internet service companies. Based in Shenzhen, Tencent is best known for operating China's biggest messaging service QQ and WeChat. It also offers online payment services, cloud storage and entertainment. Tencent agreed to buy Finnish game-maker Supercell Oy from Japan's SoftBank for US$8.6 billion in June.