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Dec. 24 (NBD) -- Chinese gaming industry shows a sign of waking up as Chinese regulator announced Friday the restart of game approvals.

Shares of technology and game giant Tencent Holdings Ltd jumped 4.51 percent to close at 315.2 Hong Kong dollars (40.3 U.S. dollars) in Friday trading, pushing the market cap back to 3 trillion Hong Kong dollars (383.6 billion U.S. dollars).

From September to October, the company repurchased stake for consecutive 24 days but with slim results.

In response to the resume of game approvals, Tencent told NBD this is decidedly inspiring news for the entire industry and it affirms the regulators’ determination to promote positive and standardized management, and set the direction for the entire cultural industry. Tencent will provide more qualified excellent products for the public.

The exhilarating news also drove up prices of game stocks in the A-share market. Shanghai U9 Game Co Ltd saw shares soar by 10.05 percent and Perfect World Co Ltd's stock rose by 6.67 percent on the same day.

China's gaming sector has been through a freezing winter this year.

A report on the industry shows that the overall revenue growth of the sector dramatically slows down during 2018 resulting from the suspension of game approvals since March this year. The sales revenue reached at 214.44 billion yuan (31.1 billion U.S. dollars), with a year-over-year rise of 5.3 percent, a record low figure in the past 10 years.

Among 51 game companies listed in the A-share market, 21 registered sliding net profit in the first three quarters of 2018 and 31 reported revenue decrease of over 100 million yuan (14.5 million U.S. dollars).

However it still takes time for the winter to be over.

Chinese regulator revealed the first batch of games have been approved and the issuance of game licenses will speed up.

As the total number of licenses will be kept in the range of 3,000 next year, far less than 7,000 to 8,000 for each year in the past, small gaming enterprises that are less competitive and incapable of exploring overseas market may face significant challenges, a famous game industry insider told the 21st Century Business Herald.

Wang Yi, vice president of NetEase, said the focus of the whole industry is shifting to the social value and long-term growth, departing from the early stage when data and cash flow were regarded to be more important.

According to Xie Fei, chief exectutive officer of Shanda Games, after the boom in 2009-2018, China's gaming sector is expected to step toward maturity in the coming 10 years starting from 2019.

Email: zhanglingxiao@nbd.com.cn