Tencent Shares Hit Record High After Investment Invitation From State Rail Operator

(Beijing) — Tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. saw its share price hit an all-time high on Monday amid reports that it has become the second company after Alibaba to be invited to invest in China’s rail operator.

State-owned China Railway Corp. (CRC) welcomed Tencent into its share-holding reform program, which involves securitization and capitalization of assets, CRC’s General Manager Lu Dongfu said on Friday and reported by state-run newspaper People’s Railway Daily.

The reform is part of a Beijing-led initiative known as mixed-ownership reform. Introduced in December, the initiative aims to improve the efficiency of lumbering state-owned enterprises by bringing more private-capital investment to big state monopolies.

Tencent’s stock price rose Monday to HK$288.8 ($37.00) per share — the highest level since its IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2004. It closed the day at HK$285.4.

This is the second invitation CRC has extended since it began the reform in January. The Friday meeting follows a similar one between Lu and e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. in May.

Neither Alibaba nor Tencent has outlined its specific intentions for the respective investments.

CRC will also deepen cooperation with Tencent in exploring cashless travel, applying face recognition to the checking of train tickets, Lu said at CRC headquarters during his meeting Friday with Tencent Chairman Pony Ma.

The railway was one of seven sectors selected for the initiative, alongside the power, energy, civil aviation, telecommunications and defense sectors, according to China’s state planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission.

Contact reporter Song Shiqing (shiqingsong@caixin.com)