Tencent: US ban on WeChat may not apply to apps in China

According to previous regulations of the US government, TikTok and WeChat will be banned before September 20, and US companies will not be able to interact with companies related to these two applications, which has also attracted widespread attention from the outside world.

Regarding the US's stranglehold on WeChat, many industry insiders said that this approach is of little significance, because WeChat applications are mainly aimed at Chinese users, so the impact is not that wide, and Tencent has the same view.

After the company released its financial report yesterday, media reported that Tencent executives emphasized the difference between WeChat services outside of China and a similar application WeChat used in China, and the US executive order explicitly mentioned the former.

The distinction between WeChat and WeChat is crucial because the vast majority of Tencent's revenue comes from within China. If its domestic messaging service is not disrupted, the impact on Tencent's business is likely to be fairly minimal.

“The focus of the executive order is on WeChat in the U.S., not our other businesses in the U.S.,” Tencent Chief Financial Officer Hans Lo said on a call with investors, adding that he could not speculate further. “We are in the process of seeking further clarification from both parties in the U.S..”

Tencent reported its fastest revenue growth in two years and profit that beat analysts’ highest expectations in its financial results, with sales rising 29% to Rmb114.9bn ($16.5bn) in the three months to June and net profit rising to Rmb33.1bn.