Tencent earmarks 93 firms for US$27.48 bn in cash injections
02 August, 2018
Chinese Internet giant Tencent has so far invested in 93 enterprises in 2018, with a total investment scale of 187.47 billion yuan (US$27.48 billion), according to calculations by ITJUZI.com, Yicai.com reported.
A source close to the company said projects which can form checks and balances on its major competitor Alibaba can more easily get cash injections from Tencent.
While the investments cover all aspects of e-commerce, corporate services, transportation and logistics, culture, entertainment and education, the e-commerce community is the area where Tencent bets the most.
For example, the company’s largest investment in the first half of 2018 was seeking a 9% stake in Pinduoduo, a group-buying company, for US$1.019 billion. After Pinduoduo completed its Nasdaq IPO, Tencent increased its holdings by US$250 million.
Pinduoduo is an e-commerce platform that allows users to participate in group buying deals, mostly through Tencent’s messaging and social media app WeChat. Recently, however, the company was being investigated over the alleged sales of fake, imitation goods.