Over 820 million 'e-ang pows' sent in China over CNY period, says WeChat

Red packets or 'hongbao' in Mandarin. -AFPpic

SHANGHAI (AFP): More than 820 million electronic “red packets” were sent over China’s Lunar New Year holiday, leading social media platform WeChat said, as the centuries-old practice of exchanging monetary gifts increasingly goes digital.

WeChat, which is owned by Chinese internet giant Tencent, said the tally was reached over a six-day span during last week’s national holiday, and marked a 7% rise over the same period in 2018.