Smaller increases in the costs of services, and electricity and gas were broadly offset by a steeper rise in the costs of retail and other goods and food.
Founder Forrest Li announced in an internal memo that the company “needs to focus on profitability after a difficult 2022”, adding that the economy next year “may prove to be even more challenging”.
“Your projects can’t even survive as a business – they are living on life support, but still you just cheerily play ball on the weekend,” said the Tencent founder during the townhall.