China's Tencent sees WeChat usage surge on virus

Tencent's social media platform WeChat and videogames experienced a surge in traffic as China's government urged millions of people to stay at home and away from crowded places, analysts said. — Reuters

BEIJING: China's Tencent Holdings Ltd said on March 18 the coronavirus drove eight billion visits to its WeChat platform as users flocked to get "health codes" they need to show authorities in order to travel around the country.

Reporting slightly lower than expected fourth quarter profit on March 18, the gaming and social media giant said in a statement it did not expect the epidemic to have any significant impact on its financial position to date.