Tencent becomes first Chinese tech company to break $500B market cap

Internet and game juggernaut Tencent has become the first Chinese tech to see its stock market capitalization surpass $500 billion. 

As reported by the Financial Times, that means the firm has joined an elite group dominated by U.S. companies including Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple.

Tencent's success has been built on the back of its chat app, WeChat, and its frequent forays into the games industry. 

The Shenzhen-based outfit owns Clash of Clans maker Supercell and League of Legends creator Riot Games, and is the publisher behind the recent mobile hit, Honor of Kings. Meanwhile, it also holds small stakes in Epic Games and Frontier Developments, making for a pretty diverse roster. 

According to recent reports, the company intends to add to that impressive line-up by acquiring PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds developer Bluehole, but a concrete deal has yet to materialize.