The rating on China-based Internet services provider Tencent Holdings Ltd. reflects our view that the company will retain its strong user base in instant messaging and social networking services in China. The favorable growth prospects of China's Internet industry and the company's sound financial standing further support the rating. Intense competition and regulatory risk in China partly offset these strengths. Although Tencent has grown rapidly over the past several years, it has yet to prove its long-term earnings sustainability, in our view. We assess Tencent's business risk profile as "satisfactory." The company is one of China's leading Internet service providers, with 783.9 million active instant messaging user accounts as of Sept. 30, 2012. It has the largest domestic market share
