Once known mainly as a video games distributor, Tencent has grown WeChat into China
BEIJING: Tencent Holdings Ltd and JD.com Inc will buy a slice of one of China’s largest online retailers for US$863mil, forging an alliance to take on Alibaba in e-commerce and digital payments.
The pair agreed to buy shares in US-listed Vipshop Holdings Ltd at a premium of 55% to their previous close. The deal comes with a business cooperation pact that includes setting aside real estate for Vipshop on JD’s site and Tencent’s digital wallet, a thriving and integral part of the WeChat messaging service used by close to a billion people.
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