Tencent, Alibaba hold key to US$44bil tech run

Economic driver: Alibaba Group Holding’s headquarters in Hangzhou. The company is scheduled to report its third-quarter earnings this week. — Bloomberg

Beijing: Financial results from Tencent Holdings Ltd and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd will likely test the strength of a US$44bil rally in China’s technology sector this month.

As the country’s major tech firms start reporting third-quarter earnings this week, expectations are for Tencent to show strong growth given cost reductions and a friendlier regulatory climate for gaming that also benefits rival NetEase Inc.