Chinese Gaming Stocks Drop

Shares of Tencent ($TCEHY@China) and Netease ($NTES@China) fell on Thursday morning after Chinese regulators called them and other gaming companies in for an interview, reminding them of restrictions on game time for children. Tencent shares were down around 6% in afternoon trade in Hong Kong, while NetEase fell nearly 8%. China’s propaganda department, cyberspace regulator, and other authorities said they would “seriously deal with” any violations of their rules. The regulators reminded gaming companies they need to limit game time for children under 18 years of age. Under rules announced last month, kids cannot play online games for more than 3 hours per week, only during specific times and days. The Chinese government has long been concerned about the impact of gaming on the physical and mental health of children. Gaming giants have said they will not be overly affected by continued restrictions on kids’ playing time. Tencent noted only 2.6% of gross game receipts in China were derived from players under 16 years old.