Johannesburg — CHINA's biggest internet company, Tencent Holdings, in which Naspers has a 35,2% share, saw its share price rise to a record high in Hong Kong trading yesterday after the company reported profit that exceeded analysts' estimates.

According to Bloomberg, shares rose 2,6% to HK153 in premarket trading, their highest price since they first traded in June 2004.

Tencent reported on Wednesday that its third-quarter net profit nearly doubled from a year ago, boosted by a strong performance in its online games division. Third-quarter profit for the three months to September 30 rose 93%.

Tencent, which has a market value of 35bn, is the best-performing stock in the Hang Seng index this year as the company has increased sales of games and internet advertising.

The provider of QQ instant messaging software has more than 450-million users -- better than Microsoft and Skype in China, according to Analysys International.

Tencent's strong performance bodes well for South African media multinational Naspers. JPMorgan this week valued Naspers's Tencent stake at R83,9bn, seeing it as a key indicator of value for Naspers, alongside its pay-TV segment, which it values at R56,2bn.

JPMorgan's Ziyad Joosub and Jean-Charles Lemardeley were upbeat, saying they maintained their overweight rating on Naspers.

Tencent did warn when it released its results that it expected a challenging fourth quarter, with seasonal factors affecting its online advertising business and internet value-added services.

Naspers stock fell 1,06% yesterday to R281 on a strong price: earnings ratio of 34.