Chinese technology company Tencent on Tuesday said it will open a new Singapore office to serve as a Southeast Asia hub as the company recovers from setbacks in the US and India. The company is the latest Chinese technology leader to use the city-state as a base, expanding with the fast-growing middle class in the 650 million regions.


Tencent announced a new office in a statement and said it was "expanding its business presence in Singapore to support our growing business in Southeast Asia and beyond. “The company, which already has offices in Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia, said it was recruiting for various positions.

Citing anonymous sources, Bloomberg News said the company's plans to set up a regional center in Singapore have been accelerated by geopolitical tensions.

In the United States, President Donald Trump announced a ban on Tencent's social media site WeChat and Tik Tok, owned by Chinese technology company Byte Dance, from mid - September.

India has banned a number of Chinese applications, including Tencent's hit games PUBG Mobile and Valor of Arena, following a series of clashes between troops on the disputed Himalayan border with neighboring countries.