Tencent fends off Spotify, Apple in China’s battle for the bands

Andy Ng, vice president of Tencent Music Entertainment Group, poses for a photograph in Hong Kong, China, on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017. One of China's most-anticipated initial public offerings next year may be music to the ears of Tencent Holdings Ltd. investors because of its potential to drown out any noise Apple Music and Spotify want to make in the biggest market. Photographer: Anthony Kwan/Bloomberg

One of China’s most-anticipated initial public offerings next year may be music to the ears of Tencent Holdings Ltd investors because of its potential to drown out any noise Spotify and Apple Music want to make in the biggest market. 

Tencent Music, a streaming and downloading service, is expected to raise at least US$1bil (RM4.07bil) and is valued at US$10bil (RM40.77bil), people familiar with the matter have said, with no decision yet on which exchange it would list on. Underpinned by three separate platforms, Tencent Music already has twice as many paying customers as Spotify Ltd.