Nintendo Co. Ltd's shares jumped over 15% on Friday after media previously reported that Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. had won approval from Chinese authorities to sell Nintendo's Switch console in China.
Nintendo's shares were up 15.92% at 5:20 am CET after regulators in China's southern province of Guangdong gave Tencent the go-ahead to launch the Switch along with the New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe game in China. Nintendo does not have a presence in the world's largest gaming market yet as consoles were officially banned in China until 2014 when the government removed the ban. However, analysts have warned that it could take some time before the Switch is released in China and that its games will have to undergo separate approval processes.
Reports in February first indicated that Nintendo was preparing to release a second version of the Switch next year. However, subsequent reports in March stated that the company was readying two versions of the Switch that would be released later in the year.
