CICC International: Raises TENCENT (00700) target price to HKD 717, reiterates "outperform" rating.

Bank of China International released a research report stating that TENCENT (00700) as a unique and important beneficiary of artificial intelligence, reaffirms its status as the industry's preferred choice and "outperform" rating. The target price was also raised by 13%, from HK$635 to HK$717. The bank believes that Tencent has the ability to deploy artificial intelligence in all business lines and drive sustainable profit growth through its unique and not yet fully realized WeChat ecosystem. After the performance, the bank raised the group's 2025-2027 revenue and profit forecasts by 2%/3%/3% and 3%/5%/5% respectively. The report stated that with the strong momentum of Tencent's perennial game "Delta Force" and the upcoming launch of "Valorant Mobile," the bank expects the group's third-quarter game revenue to grow by 16%, with growth of 14% in the Chinese market and 20% in the international market. It is also expected that third-quarter advertising revenue will increase by 19%.