Can Tencent Holdings Rebound from its Fall?

Tencent was founded in Shenzhen, China, in 1998 by Ma Huateng (also known as Pony Ma) and his four friends Zhang Zhidong, Xu Chenye, Chen Yidan, and Zeng Liqing with funds raised from some venture capitalists in China. Tencent’s mission was to “improve the quality of life through internet value-added services.”

Ma had worked in the pager business after graduating from southern China’s Shenzhen University in 1993 with a computer science degree. His co-founders too had computer science backgrounds. Tencent had a strong leadership base as four of the five co-founders had a technical background that honed the company’s focus on positive user experience.