Chinese companies linked to the gaming industry regained some ground on Wednesday after what had been a brutal start to the weekend as the government appeared to ease up on new regulations for the sector. Shares of Tencent were up as much as 6% while those of NetEase were up over 10% as the Hong Kong market resumed after the Christmas and Boxing Day holidays. Those gains are still some way off from Friday’s market rout.
A set of draft rules released by Beijing on Friday blindsided investors, wiping out about $80 billion in value from the industry. The new measures from the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA), the industry regulator, are aimed at curbing the amount of time and money players spend on online games. Some of the changes proposed include barring developers from rewarding players for daily log-ins, and providing incentives for people to livestream games.
