Icons for the Tencent messaging app WeChat is seen in this arranged photograph taken in Hong Kong, China, on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017. (BLOOMBERG)

Tencent Holdings Ltd’s shares just hit three milestones in a single day.

The Shenzhen-based firm is worth US$613 billion, the seventh most globally

The Chinese mainland internet and gaming giant rose 4.9 percent to a record HK$497.40 in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on Tuesday, leapfrogging Alibaba Group Holding Ltd as Asia’s most valuable company.

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It’s also now doubled in value since a low in 2018. The Shenzhen-based firm is worth US$613 billion, the seventh most globally.

Tencent has for years captivated investors and analysts with its massively popular online gaming business, payments system and WeChat social networking platform.

After homebound players helped propel revenue during the mainland’s COVID-19 lockdowns earlier in the year, Tencent’s integral role in the lives of hundreds of millions of Chinese is adding to optimism that it can keep up that pace of growth.

Tencent stock analysts, who rarely back away from their bullish recommendations on the shares, have boosted their average 12-month price target by 13 percent over the past six weeks.

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Mainland investors are also fans, holding a record amount of the company’s shares through exchange links with Hong Kong, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.