The Tencent logo at a trade show in Shanghai, China, July 28, 2023 (AFP/Archives/Jade Gao)
Chinese internet giant Tencent announced the dismissal of more than 120 people last year for violating its anti-fraud rules, including corruption and embezzlement.
Tencent, a global video games giant, is a key player in tech in China thanks to its WeChat application (messaging, online payment, social network), present on almost all phones in the country.
The founder of Tencent, Pony Ma, who found the level of corruption in his company “shocking” in 2022, had promised measures, according to comments then reported by state media.
During 2023, more than 70 violations of the code of conduct were noted, Tencent noted.
“More than 120 people were fired” from the company and nearly twenty were reported to the authorities, the group said in a press release published Friday.
Some of the employees accused of corruption and dismissed belonged to the PCG branch of the group, responsible for the distribution of content (news, sports, films, etc.).
Others worked in the medical services branch of the group, of which Tencent is one of the major players in China with its telemedicine applications.
One of the employees implicated by Tencent was sentenced to 4 years in prison and a fine of 100,000 yuan (12,900 euros), mainly for “misappropriation of property” of the company, according to the press release.
The group currently has just over 100,000 employees.
These announcements come after several difficult years in China for the digital giants.
After meteoric growth, the sector has seen a sudden recovery from 2020 by the authorities to further regulate it.
This turn of the screw caused the loss of billions of dollars in market capitalization and weighed down the results of powerful internet companies. Tencent had not been spared.
Restrictions in China on online play time for under-18s have also been a blow to the group’s profitability.
Tencent is now looking for more opportunities abroad, particularly in Europe, where the firm is strengthening itself by acquiring stakes in emblematic video game studios.
© 2024 AFP
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