智通财经网·2026-01-06 03:13Core Viewpoint - The report from Citigroup highlights three major themes for the Chinese internet industry in 2026, focusing on recurring revenue growth from cloud infrastructure, competition for AI chatbot user traffic, and the deployment of proprietary AI agents by vertical companies to enhance user engagement and monetization potential [1] Group 1: Industry Trends - The Chinese internet sector is expected to see significant growth in recurring revenue from cloud infrastructure, model stacks, and inference token usage [1] - Major internet companies are competing to capture user traffic for AI chatbots, aiming for future ecosystem monetization [1] - Vertical companies are deploying self-trained proprietary data AI agents to maintain competitive advantages and improve user engagement [1] Group 2: Financial Outlook - Citigroup anticipates that most internet companies will enhance operational leverage through AI-assisted cost optimization, with some likely to accelerate revenue growth due to effective AI agent deployment [1] - The ongoing demand in tourism and online gaming is expected to support stable revenue growth for online travel and gaming companies, providing good diversification for investment portfolios [1] Group 3: Company Recommendations - Citigroup favors Tencent Holdings (00700) and Alibaba-W (09988) as core AI investment concepts within the Chinese internet sector [1] - The firm maintains a "Buy" rating for Tencent Holdings with a target price of HKD 751, citing strong AI development prospects in both enterprise and user applications [1] - For Alibaba, Citigroup also assigns a "Buy" rating with a target price of HKD 223, highlighting its performance in cloud revenue growth and efficiency improvements [1]