Trump administration debates allowing Tencent to keep its gaming stakes, FT reports

The White House is debating ‌whether to allow Tencent (0700) to keep its stakes in major video game groups as US ​President Donald Trump prepares to meet ​Chinese President Xi Jinping in China in ⁠April, the Financial Times reported on ​Tuesday.

Top officials have held internal meetings to assess ​whether Tencent's investments in US and Finnish gaming firms pose a national security risk, the newspaper said, citing several ​people familiar with the deliberations.

A meeting ​among several cabinet officials scheduled for Tuesday to review ‌the ⁠issue was postponed due to scheduling issues, FT said.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The White House and Tencent also did not immediately ​respond to ​Reuters' request ⁠for comment.

Hong Kong-listed Tencent holds a stake in US video game developer ​Epic Games, the creator of "Fortnite", and ​owns ⁠Los Angeles-based Riot Games, the developer of "League of Legends."

In 2016, it bought a majority ⁠stake ​in Supercell, the Finnish mobile-game ​maker behind "Clash of Clans", for about US$8.6 billion.

Reuters