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Tencent, the owner of popular social messaging app WeChat, on Thursday overtook e-commerce giant Alibaba to become China's most valuable technology company after posting a strong set of earnings.
Data compiled by spreadbettor IG showed Tencent's market capitalization was at 1910.3 billion Hong Kong dollars ($246.35 billion) as of 10:40 a.m. HK/SIN, compared with Alibaba's market capitalization of $242.04 billion.
The Chinese gaming and social network company announced its second quarter and first half 2016 earnings on Wednesday, reporting strong growth in mobile gaming and advertising.
Total revenue for the second quarter came in at 35.69 billion yuan ($5.38 billion), registering a 52 percent on-year increase. Operating profit was at 14.33 billion yuan, which was 43 percent higher from the same period a year earlier.
The bulk of revenue for the quarter came from online gaming, which grew by 32 percent on-year to 17.124 billion yuan, driven particularly by smartphone games.
Monthly active user accounts on Tencent's social WeChat/Weixin platform were 806 million, registering a 34 percent on-year increase.
In June, Tencent deepened its presence in the mobile gaming space by leading a consortium to acquire a majority equity stake in Finnish gamemaker Supercell, which produced popular titles such as Clash of Clans and Clash Royale.
Hong Kong-listed shares of Tencent climbed 5.08 percent in morning trade on Thursday.
Representatives from Tencent and Alibaba did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comments.
