By
now, you must know about the controversial executive orders passed by Donald
Trump. He has managed to pass a bill that forbids the transaction with the
companies after the 45-day deadline – ends on 20^th September. So
far, the entire focus was on ByteDance which is the parent company of TikTok –
a double-edged sword fore-played by the US diplomats. However, this wasn’t the
actual game because the second-order could have a far more complicated impact on
the relations with the country. The second executive order actually targets the
Chinese texting app called WeChat and its parent company Tencent.

For
those of you who don’t know, Tencent is actually one of the biggest tech
companies in the world. In the past, this company has been buying stakes in
video game studios, music companies, and also some social media apps. This
company is even bigger than ByteDance – having potent ownership stakes in
Blizzard, Spotify, and many others. This company is far more embedded globally.
When Tencent responds, the business associates would be forced to choose sides.
This can have greater implications than the White House realizes right now.

For
now, Trump has targeted WeChat, and about the transactions… we will know
for sure if the transactions as actually stopped after the 45-day period. What
this means is that we’ll find out what the ban on transactions means – is it
applied to the money sent via WeChat or is it applicable to the money transferred
between the Tencent subsidiaries?

A
Tencent representative has said that as of now they’re thoroughly reviewing the
executive order to gauge complete understanding.

WeChat
is widely used in China; from payments for tools to casual shopping and
business transactions, everything is done via WeChat, it has managed to earn
some users in the US. Apart from this, it has embedded in various systems of
censorship and surveillance in China – and this is a cause of concern for the
minority users outside China. Hence, if the order only bans the usage of the
app in the US, the damage would be limited.

The
damage will be magnificent and far-reaching if any business with Tencent is
impacted at all. It could lead to complete chaos and financial crisis globally.
Since the investments are huge, the damage would be abrupt and no precise cost can
be guaranteed.

Source: autoevolution

Source: Slash Film

Source: TechRadar

Following
is the non-exhaustive list of the companies and properties owned by Tencent:

• Tencent owns 100 percent of Riot Games – the developer of League of Legends
• Tencent is the largest minority owner in
  Fortnite
• Tencent owns a little over 80 percent of
  Supercell, which is the studio behind Clash of Clans.
• Tencent also publishes the mobile
  version of PUBG in China.
• Tencent owns more than 11 percent
  Bluehole.
• Tencent possesses single-digit stakes in
  game studios like Blizzard, Ubisoft, PlatinumGames, etc.
• Tencent Pictures – major production
  company and distributor, is involved in Hollywood productions like Wonder
  Woman, Venom, and the upcoming Top Gun: Maverick. It’s also a major distributor
  of films in China.
• Last year, Tencent even signed a $1.5
  billion five-year deal with the NBA that permits the streaming of its games in
  China.
• Tencent owns about 14 percent of Kakao –
  this is the most popular gaming and chatting app in South Korea.
• Tencent even hold a 9 percent stake in
  Spotify.

As
you can see, the second executive order passed by Trump is far
more complicated than expected. From music to movies, chatting apps, video
games, NBA – everything will be affected.