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 risks in China partly offset the above strengths. And although Tencent has grown rapidly over the past two to three years, it has yet to prove its long-term sustainability, in our view. We assess Tencent's business risk profile as "satisfactory". The company is one of China's leading Internet companies, with 751.9 million active instant messaging user accounts as of March 31, 2012. It has the largest market
