Hong Kong — In its quest to expand its global reach, Tencent Holdings has quietly become China’s top corporate investor in Silicon Valley, pouring money into everything from electric cars to moonshot ventures such as space tourism and asteroid mining. Tencent’s best-known investments are gaming companies, including Clash of Clans maker Supercell of Finland and League of Legends maker Riot Games. But the internet giant hasn’t stopped there. People close to Tencent, China’s most valuable listed company with a market capitalisation of $328bn, say the approach reflects the company’s desire to remain abreast of even the most far-fetched ideas and products out of Silicon Valley — and its fear of missing out on the next big thing. While several Chinese firms have jumped into hot areas such as artificial intelligence and driverless vehicles, Tencent hopes an active investment arm will offer a window into even more outside-the-box developments in Silicon Valley, people familiar with the comp...
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