TENCENT has vowed to give its shareholders $20.3bn (£17.1bn) worth of shares in Chinese food delivery firm Meituan as it seeks to reduce its holdings in China's tech sector.

The Shenzhen firm's "special dividend" comes as its sales dropped two per cent year-on-year, to £16.6bn, after sales from its advertising business fell five per cent, to £2.6bn.

The Wechat owner's plans to divest from its 17 per cent stake in Meituan comes as the tech giant seeks to appease Chinese regulators amid a Beijing led crackdown on tech.

(c) 2022 City A.M., source Newspaper