Photographer: Yan Cong / Bloomberg
Photographer: Yan Cong / Bloomberg
Tencent Holdings Ltd. said an employee is being investigated for alleged corruption in his personal relationships, dismissing a report indicating the investigation involved the unauthorized transfer of WeChat data.
Zhang Feng’s investigation does not involve Tencent’s WeChat messaging service, a spokesman said. The Wall Street Journal had previously reported that Zhang had been arrested for allegedly sharing personal data collected by WeChat with Sun Lijun, a former vice minister of public security who is being investigated by Beijing.
Zhang, who had been identified as vice president in November 2018 statement from a local municipal government, he has never held a senior position and is not vice president, the Tencent spokesman said. Investigators are studying what kind of data Zhang may have shared with Sun and what the government official might have done with the information, the WSJ said.
Tencent said earlier this month that it fired more than 100 employees on suspicion of grafting for a series of probes over the past year and reported more than 40 workers to police. The company’s rare revelation underscores Beijing’s increasingly tough stance on corruption among government executives and corporate executives.
Read more: Tencent shoots more than 100 employees in one All year round Graft probe
China is also stepping up its scrutiny of its most powerful technology companies, including Tencent and rival Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., which seek to curb its growing power in a wide range of sectors, from finance to e-commerce and ‘shared economy.
Pony Ma, president and co-founder of the company, is not under investigation, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. He was free to leave China and traveled to Singapore last year, the person said, asking not to be identified in a private matter.
Shares of Tencent, Asia’s most valuable company, fell as much as 1.6% before stopping Hong Kong’s trade losses.
“It will definitely result in a profit taking for the given shares that have increased significantly this year,” said Daniel So, strategist at CMB International Securities Ltd. “While the case involves corruption which is a sensitive issue, it appears that the impact is not as profound as Alibaba at the moment, as it is linked to one individual rather than the Internet business. Investors will still accept the actions “.
– With the assistance of Lulu Yilun Chen and Felix Tam
(Update the first paragraph with details)