(Yicai Global) April 20 -- Shares in Kuaishou tumbled today after Chinese internet behemoth Tencent Holding said its investment vehicle will hand part of its stake in the Chinese short video platform to shareholders as a dividend.

Kuaishou’s stock price [HKG:1024] was trading down 4.84 percent at HKD49.20 (USD6.27) apiece as of 3.30 p.m. China time today.

Parallel Nebula Investment, which is indirectly owned by Tencent’s private equity arm Tencent Plus Partners, is distributing 51 million shares in Kuaishou as a special dividend, Tencent said. It equals a 1.4 percent reduction in PNI’s stake. Shenzhen-based Tencent will remain with 19 percent equity after the transaction.

Tencent is confident about Kuaishou’s long-term prospects and will maintain a close relationship with the Beijing-based company, it said.

This is not the first time that Tencent has dished out shares as dividends to shareholders as the firm tries to keep on the right side of China’s anti-monopoly regulations. Last November, it offloaded 958.1 million shares in takeout giant Meituan, slashing its stake to under 2 percent from 17 percent. Tencent President Martin Lau stepped down as a Meituan board member.

And in December 2021, Tencent offloaded 457.3 million shares in JD.com, cutting its stake in the e-retailer to 2.3 percent from 17 percent. Lau also exited JD.com’s board.

Tencent also holds large stakes in video platform Bilibili, online real estate agency Ke Holdings and new energy vehicle maker Nio. It will likely continue to pare its holdings in other firms by distributing shares to shareholders to shield itself from fluctuations in the stock market.

Editor: Kim Taylor