Tencent to Invest USD 1 Bln in E-Commerce Subsidiary
Tencent Tech, 5/24/12
Pony Ma, chairman and CEO of Shenzhen-based internet company Tencent (0700.HK), announced today that Tencent will invest USD 1 bln in establishing the independently operated subsidiary Tencent E-Commerce Holdings (unofficial translation), which will serve to help develop and improve customer-facing services for Tencent's e-commerce business. Tencent president Martin Lau will serve as chairman of the new subsidiary.
Wu Xiaoguang, the CEO of the new subsidiary, said that the majority of the investment would be used to improve the service experience from the vendor side to the platform side, integrating Tencent's Paipai.com C2C site and QQ Mall B2C site with consumer electronics B2C 51Buy (Icson), mobile e-commerce, lifestyle services, and digital distribution services under Tencent E-Commerce for a new "B2C + Select Vendor Open Platform" structure.
Wu said that Tencent will increase investment in 3C goods and other categories of products, and will offer a simpler experience for users in order to decrease the decision-making cost for consumers. On the vendor side, Tencent will promote outstanding vendors by driving traffic their way. Tencent will also step up the pace of efforts to develop a national warehousing infrastructure and logistics center.
Wu added that Tencent E-Commerce will continue to monitor promising new companies in the industry and will remain alert for investment opportunities in the field of e-commerce as part of increased investment efforts.
Editor's Note: For more information on this topic, please see "Tencent E-Commerce Subsidiary May IPO," MD 5/21/12 and "Tencent Restructures into Six Businesses Groups," MD 5/18/12 issues.
Keywords: HR Martin Lau Pony Ma e-commerce Paipai Internet B2C C2C Tencent Icson 0700.HK QQ Mall Wu Xiaoguang 51Buy m-commerce
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