Online gaming reportedly will likely be the biggest beneficiary of the coronavirus-triggered disruption.
Some sectors might actually benefit from the coronavirus outbreak "as people shift from activities such as movie-watching to online entertainment such as videogames, live streaming and social networking," Barron’s reported.
Nomura analyst Jialong Shi noted that most of China’s existing blockbuster gaming titles have seen a surge in play time and in-game purchases since January, which was further fueled by the release of new content by game operators.
Tencent Holdings and NetEase (NTES)—both with significant exposure to the online gaming business—appear to be some of the best plays among Chinese internet stocks, Shi wrote.
“Amid restrictions on physical gathering, including for work, the epidemic is essentially forcing people and businesses to embrace new online technologies and applications, and therefore become more convinced of the need to migrate their operations to the cloud. That could bode well for the ambitions of China’s cloud operators such as Alibaba’s (BABA) AliCloud and Tencent Cloud,” Barron’s said.
Meanwhile, the coronavirus outbreak claimed its first life in Hong Kong on Tuesday, compounding the international financial center's problems after anti-government protests, and Macau, the world's biggest gambling playground, urged casinos to shut their doors, Reuters reported.
The victim in Hong Kong was a 39-year-old man with an underlying illness who had visited China's Wuhan city, the epicenter of the outbreak now under virtual quarantine.
It was the second death from the new coronavirus outside mainland China and brought the toll from the fast-spreading outbreak to 427.
Total infections in mainland China rose to 20,438, and nearly 200 cases have been reported across roughly two dozen countries, Hong Kong and Macau.
Macau, also a special administrative region of China lying across the Pearl River estuary from Hong Kong, said it had asked all casino operators to suspend operations for two weeks to help prevent the coronavirus spreading.
Macau's chief executive, Ho Iat Seng, made the announcement as the former Portuguese colony, whose glittering casinos draw hundreds of thousands of gamblers from across the globe, reported 10 confirmed cases of the virus and imposed tight restrictions on movements in and out of the territory.
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