Tencent proposes share split to allow smaller investors

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Tencent Holdings Ltd, China's largest publicly traded Internet company by market capitalization, has proposed a one-into-five share split in an aim to lower the investment threshold, the Hong Kong-listed company said on Wednesday.

Tencent said that small investors will be able to afford to invest in the company after the proposed share split. The share split, which is pending approval by current shareholders at Tencent's annual general meeting, is expected to be effective on May 15.

"The share price of Tencent is quite high at the moment. Through a share split, we hope to lower the investment threshold and offer some incentives to our own employees," said Pony Ma, Tencent's chief executive officer, at a Wednesday media briefing.

Tencent, which had an IPO price of HK$3.7 (48 cents) in 2004, saw its share price reach HK$567.5 on Wednesday, a decrease of 1.82 percent from the previous closing price.

Tencent's share price has been significantly boosted by its mobile messaging application WeChat, which had 355 million monthly active users at the end of 2013. The popular communication app, which has become a multifunctional platform through initiatives such as smartphone games, official accounts and a payment function over the past year.

From March 1, 2013, Tencent's share price increased about 114 percent and has reportedly jumped about 184 percent since WeChat was launched in 2011.