Gaming giant Tencent (OTCPK:TCEHY) (OTCPK:TCTZF) and rival NetEase’s (NASDAQ:NTES) stocks rose on Wednesday, showing signs of recovery after Beijing vowed to make improvements to the draft rules unveiled on Friday which led to a market rout last week.
Tencent’s stock rose +4.01% to HK$285, while rival NetEase jumped +11.89% to HK$136.50, Bilibili (BILI) climbed about 7% on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The new rules had set panic among investors and had led to a wipe out of about $80B in market value from the three China companies on Friday. NetEase stock was down about 4% premarket on Wednesday on Nasdaq.
The proposed rules for online gaming industry are aimed at curbing the amount of money and time players spend playing the games. As per the draft, online games would not be allowed to set inductive rewards such as daily login, first-time recharge, and continuous recharge. Pop-up warnings should be issued to users for irrational consumption behavior. The rules also include caps on the amount each player can spend within a game, among other things.
However, on Saturday, Chinese regulator National Press and Publication Administration, or NPPA, tried to allay investor concerns by noting that it would “earnestly study expressed concerns and views,” and would further amend the rules after taking in views from related government bodies, companies and users.
The regulator is seeking public comment on the rules by Jan. 22, 2024.
China also approved 105 domestic games on Monday, with titles also from Tencent and NetEase.
NetEase shares showed signs of recovery on Wednesday, after falling around 20% on Friday, also in part helped by local media reports since Monday that the company is again in discussions to partner with World of Warcraft-maker Blizzard. The two companies had parted ways a year ago, Reuters reported.
Earlier in December, Blizzard’s Chinese unit published a post noting that it is in discussions with publishing partners in China to continue the game’s service in the country.
Other Chinese stocks in the green on Wednesday: Weibo (WB) about 6%, Alibaba (BABA) around 3%, Baidu (BIDU) and Kuaishou Technology (OTCPK:KUASF) (OTCPK:KSHTY) about 1% each, on the Hong Kong exchange.