Africa-Press – South-Africa. Shares of Naspers and Prosus rallied on Tuesday morning, despite their denial of a report suggesting they are in talks with a consortium led by Chinese state-owned CITIC to sell their lucrative $70.5 billion (R1.28 trillion) stake in tech behemoth Tencent.
Asian Tech Press reported on Monday that the “strategic infrastructure that affects the country’s livelihood” was under consideration, but Naspers said in a statement the report was “speculative and untrue”.
Asian Tech Press describes itself as an “information outlet”, and has fewer than 4 400 followers on Twitter. The report cites unnamed sources and was written by “Christina”, no last name provided.
By mid-morning, shares of Naspers were up almost 11% to R2 103 and Prosus was almost 9% higher at R865, after gaining more than 13% earlier in the session.
Click here for the share price of Prosus and other info.
The shares benefited from a sharp run in Tencent’s share price on Monday. Reuters reports that Hong Kong and China stocks jumped on Tuesday after rumours based on an unverified note circulating on social media that China was planning a reopening from strict COVID curbs in March triggered a sharp rebound following last month’s savage selling.
The Hang Seng Index jumped more than 5%, while the Hang Seng Tech Index gained nearly 8%. Tencent’s share price rallied almost 11%.
Shares in Prosus have now almost entirely recovered from a sharp fall on 24 October, which came as investors digested the outlook for tech companies in China after Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping was elected for a third term.
He packed his cabinet with supporters of his zero Covid-19 policies. There are also concerns of further regulatory crackdowns on China’s tech sector, as well as concerns about changes to foreign ownership rules.
CITC was founded in 1979 with the support of former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, and had changed its name from China International Trust Investment Corporation to the acronym, becoming a state-authorized investment institution.
The multinational conglomerate has a wide range of businesses covering finance, energy and resources, manufacturing, engineering contracting, real estate and others.
The Naspers stable, which holds about 28% of Tencent, is in the midst of paring back its holdings in a bid to narrow the discount at which its shares trade. Naspers said on Tuesday that it will continue with this programme, which it initiated in June.
“The Naspers board and Prosus board reiterate their continued confidence in Tencent’s long-term prospects and continue to believe that the share repurchase programme is in the best interests of Prosus, Naspers, and their respective shareholders,” it said.
News24 is owned by Media24, which is part of the Naspers stable.
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
