Tencent Lets Go Entire Staff At Fanbyte After Failing To Secure Gaming License, Stock Falls

Leading gaming company Tencent Holding Ltd TCEHY laid off nearly all of the editorial staff at Fanbyte, an online gaming publication, TechCrunch reports.
The layoffs included the site's editor-in-chief, head of media, features editor, social editor, news editor, graphic designer, podcast producer, and several writers.
Fanbyte employees were laid off slowly, one by one, over several hours.
After posting its first revenue decline last quarter, Tencent laid off about 5% of its workforce, affecting 5,000 people.
The layoffs followed despite the assurance of government support towards the tech industry to boost the fallen economy.
Tencent failed to win gaming license approval since the regulators lifted the suspension. China suspended game approvals last August before resuming them in April.
Recently, Tencent shareholders added $7.6 billion in shares to Hong Kong's clearing and settlement system, spurring speculation of a selloff by its biggest shareholder, Naspers Ltd NAPRF.
As of the June quarter, Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA let go of 9,241 employees, representing 3.6% of its workforce, totaling 254,941 at the end of March.
Price Action: Tencent shares fell 2.27% in Hong Kong on Friday.