China’s Tencent fired 120 people accused of corruption

2024-02-04 09:37:00

Internal politics are hardening within one of China’s tech giants. The Chinese champion, in terms of capitalization, had to clean up his workforce. While the control of the communist state is strengthening over its tech flagships to control their power, Tencent communicated on the dismissal last year of more than 120 people for having violated its anti-fraud rules, in particular due to corruption and embezzlement.

A drop in the ocean for a group with just over 100,000 employees. But the message of firmness towards its employees is unequivocal.

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 judged 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.

The distribution of the content in question

“More than 120 people were fired” of 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.

These announcements come following several difficult years in China for the digital giants.

After dazzling growth, from 2020 the sector experienced a sudden takeover 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.

(With AFP)