Tencent has played down rumours that it plans to spin off its WeChat messaging app, according to China Daily sources.

WeChat — known as Weixin in China — claims to have 195 million active users per month and 300 million registered users. Rival WhatsApp recently claimed it had passed 300 million monthly active users.

Tencent, the Chinese social networking giant, set up an office in May, leading to rumours that it plans to list WeChat on the Singapore stock exchange. Tencent founder Ma Huateng was appointed director of the Singapore office this month.

However, the Chinese company’s Singapore PR firm denied the market rumours to TechCrunch.

The China Daily report suggested that Tencent’s interest in a listing in Singapore is to avoid regulatory issues with listing WeChat on the Hong Kong stock exchange along with its parent company.

Tencent has added more services to the iOS version of WeChat as it looks to monetise the service more effectively. Added services include mobile payments, a game centre and sticker store.