Citigroup: TENCENT (00700) WorkBuddy cloud solution provides security advantages, target price of HK$783.

Citigroup released a research report stating that the Chinese government has announced a ban on installing the OpenClaw artificial intelligence application on state-owned office computers. Globally, professional users have tended to run artificial intelligence agents on separate machines as a best security practice. Given the widespread popularity of Chinese smartphones and the limited number of personal computers, the bank believes that some users may have attempted to install OpenClaw on office computers, prompting the government to take action. Citigroup maintains a "buy" rating on TENCENT (00700) with a target price of HK$783. The bank believes that Tencent's "WorkBuddy" allows artificial intelligence agents to run in its secure cloud environment, which may be seen as a safer solution in China as it bypasses the risk of local machine installations. Specifically, Tencent's dominant communication platforms QQ and WeChat provide unique ecosystem advantages, allowing users to seamlessly manage artificial intelligence agents. This integrated approach leverages widely adopted communication applications and provides Tencent with a relatively strong position in the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence agents. The bank maintains a constructive view on Tencent's competitive position and the upcoming development of artificial intelligence leveraging its existing ecosystem advantages.