Tencent's Pony Ma says to give shares worth US$2b to charity
[SHANGHAI] The founder of China's Tencent Holdings Ltd, Pony Ma, said he plans to donate 100 million company shares worth more than US$2 billion to the firm's charity foundation.
Mr Ma, one of China's richest with an estimated fortune of US$18.8 billion, said the donation would go towards supporting medical, educational and environmental causes in China.
Hong Kong-listed shares in Tencent, China's largest social network and online entertainment firm, closed up 0.24 per cent at HK$165.70 on Monday, making the donation worth about US$2.1 billion.
"After 10 years of exploration and participation in philanthropic activities, I increasingly feel that there is a need for a more longer-term, efficient and organised way to give back to society," he said in a statement on Monday.
The Tencent Foundation was established in 2007 and cooperates with other charity organisations, the company said.
An October survey of China's super-rich found China has overtaken the United States as the country with the most billionaires.
Mr Ma's large donation is unusual in a country where philanthropy has yet to take off.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and fellow billionaire Warren Buffett made headlines in 2010 when they asked 50 of China's richest people to a philanthropy dinner. A third turned the invitation down, reportedly due to fears they would be pressed to donate money.
REUTERS
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Technology
Meta’s results are best viewed through rose-tinted AI glasses
'Harvesting data': Latin American AI startups transform farming
After long peace, Big Tech faces US antitrust reckoning
Tech’s cash crunch sees creditors turn ‘violent’ with one another
Tech millionaires chase billionaire tax shields with ‘swap fund’
Elon Musk’s Starlink profits are more elusive than investors think