Asian Tech Press (Nov 26) -- Some Chinese state-owned companies are restricting their employees from using Tencent Holdings Ltd's popular instant messaging app, WeChat, citing security concerns, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Managers from at least nine Chinese state-owned enterprises told employees this week that any chat groups set up for work on WeChat could contain sensitive information and should be shut down and deleted, the report said, citing people close to the matter. And they include some of China's largest companies, such as China Mobile Ltd., China Construction Bank Corp (CCB), and China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC).

Some of the sources said they also ask employees to take care when using WeChat for work-related communications. The state-owned companies, however, have not publicly disclosed any security concerns about WeChat.

The move comes as Beijing intensifies its scrutiny of Internet giants like Tencent and its data collection practices. Tencent is the most valuable company in China. And WeChat is the tech giant's dominant instant messaging application in the country.

Rumors circulated on Thursday that Tencent's Tencent Cloud database had been leaked. Tencent clarified that the database leak was a rumor, but it still raised public concerns about data security.

Tencent said in a statement that many companies around the world are turning to enterprise software to meet their internal communication needs. It also added that the company offers WeCom, an office collaboration app, as a solution.