(Yicai Global) Sept. 2 -- Tencent Holdings has refuted a report in the foreign media claiming that the Chinese internet and gaming giant will reduce its investments in the stock markets by CNY100 billion (USD14.5 billion) this year, Securities Times reported today.

“We have not set any target amount for share reduction. Our investment has always been aimed at bringing substantial returns to the company and shareholders, not reaching a certain amount within any given period,” Tencent said. The Shenzhen-based company is not encountering any external pressures on its investment portfolio, it added.

Tencent “has outlined a strategy internally to divest about CNY100 billion of its USD88 billion listed equity portfolio,” the Financial Times reported earlier today, citing two people familiar with the matter. When and if it does so will depend on market conditions and the firm’s internal profit targets, it added.

Last month, another rumor was circulating that Tencent was planning to sell all or most of its stake in Meituan. The takeout giant’s stock dived more than 10 percent on Aug. 16. Tencent declined to comment at the time, but a few days later, at its second-quarter earnings call, said the rumor was inaccurate, Securities Times reported.

Tencent has been under pressure recently and logged its first decline in quarterly sales in the second quarter, largely due to a drop in advertising and gaming income, it said. Revenue dipped 1.4 percent year on year to CNY269.5 billion (USD39 billion), while profit plunged 53.4 percent to CNY42 billion (USD 6 billion).

Tencent has been repurchasing more of its stock this year, demonstrating that the tech giant has confidence in its future development and that it is strong financially, the report said. So far this year, the company has bought back more than HKD10 billion (USD1.3 billion) worth of its own shares. And since Aug. 19, Tencent repurchased over one million shares, worth around HKD300 million (USD38.2 million), each day for several consecutive trading days.

Little affected by the news, Tencent’s share price [HKG:0700] was trading up 0.4 percent at HKD326 (USD41.50) as of 12 noon China time today.

Editor: Kim Taylor