Asian Tech Press (Feb 21) -- Tencent (0700.HK) shares plunged more than 5% on Monday due to a rumored crackdown on the gaming industry in China.

A rumor circulated on social media Monday that China would issue new rules for the gaming industry, which would be "enough to overturn" the Chinese gaming and social media company.

It was widely discussed in the industry and drove panic in the market, with Tencent shares falling more than 5% in response.

Learned from a number of game companies, the rumored efforts to continue to strengthen the anti-addiction of young people, and tighten regulation on topics such as effeminate men, glorification of Japanese militarism, boy's love (BL), etc., have been all not allowed.

"No approval for new online games is the biggest shortfall this year, and we in the industry have known before the lunar new year," a person in charge of a 20-year-old game company said.

Zhang Jun, director of public relations at Tencent, clarified it as a "rumor" and said, "In one afternoon, the rumor mutated into many versions."

The social media user who published the rumor has now cleared his posts and voluntarily canceled his account.