HONG KONG, Jan 25, 2026, 23:11 (HKT) — The market is now closed.
- Tencent shares closed down on Friday, underperforming Hong Kong’s tech index.
- According to a report, Chinese officials are edging closer to allowing major tech companies to start placing orders for Nvidia’s H200 AI chips.
- Investors are also keeping an eye on a new WeChat data-privacy dispute alongside Tencent’s schedule for March results.
Tencent Holdings Ltd (0700.HK) shares fell 0.42% to close at HK$595.00 on Friday, marking their fifth straight session of losses. Investors are digesting a new report about China’s position on Nvidia’s H200 AI chips as the new week begins.
The chip angle is crucial since access to premium AI server processors dictates how fast China’s leading internet firms can expand computing power for new offerings. For Tencent, this directly impacts forecasts for cloud investment and AI-driven advertising tools, with markets reacting swiftly to those shifts.
Tencent’s action coincided with the Hang Seng TECH Index climbing 0.62% to 5,798.01 on Friday.
Regulators have given Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance the green light to advance their purchase preparations for Nvidia’s H200, sources told Bloomberg News, as reported by The Edge Malaysia. Beijing is likely to require buyers to commit to a quota of domestic chips, the report added. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has projected the AI chip market could reach “US$50 billion” in the years ahead. The Edge Malaysia
Tencent is facing a minor yet vocal backlash domestically after requesting GitHub to take down over 30 open-source tools that allow exporting and analyzing WeChat chat histories, the South China Morning Post reported. “These actions compromise user privacy and data security and could be exploited by malicious actors,” Tencent said in a statement, per the report. South China Morning Post
Global risk appetite remains a wild card. Tech shares pushed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq higher on Friday, yet Intel’s steep plunge and ongoing geopolitical tensions kept a lid on gains. Investors now turn to next week’s earnings from major U.S. tech companies and the Federal Reserve’s upcoming policy move, according to a Reuters report.
Hong Kong trading restarts Monday, with investors watching closely for momentum from the H200 headlines. They’ll be assessing if any approvals come grudgingly, drag on, or include costly strings attached. The dispute over the WeChat data tool is also under scrutiny, with concerns it could spark wider platform-governance challenges.
The risk scenario is clear: chip approvals might stall or get stricter, and mandates to bundle purchases with local options could throw a wrench in AI development. On another front, a drawn-out dispute over data-export tools could keep sentiment shaky, even if it doesn’t impact near-term earnings.
Tencent announced its board will convene on March 18 to approve the annual results for the year ending Dec. 31, 2025, and to decide on a possible final dividend, marking the next key date for the stock.
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