Tencent Holdings Ltd

Tencent Holdings (OTC: TCEHY) is a company that provides Internet, mobile services, and online advertising. It was founded in 1998. It is headquartered in Shenzhen and is the developer of popular Chinese Internet platforms such as QQ Instant Messenger, QQ.com, QQ Games, Qzone, QQ Music, QQ wallet, WeChat, and Tenpay.

Tencent's diverse products have resulted in the company hosting China's largest online community. Their products are so widely available and integrated across multiple platforms that it is impossible to go a day in China without using them. As a result, Tencent Holdings has spent a lot of money promoting all of its services. As a result, Tencent has emerged as one of the most formidable competitors in the e-commerce market.

Tencent, the tech behemoth that owns WeChat, has been seeking a foothold in the e-commerce market for several years. It owns 17.1% of JD.com and a stake in Pinduoduo until October 2019. Tencent launched Xiao'e Pinpin, a WeChat mini-program similar to Pinduoduo's that uses a group-based social shopping model.

Tencent's WeChat announced (in Chinese) in a July company statement that it is testing a new mini-store built into the app called Weixin Xiaoshangdian. The WeChat store will have a livestreaming feature. WeChat's mini stores, if successful, could be a game changer for China's e-commerce industry.

Although WeChat was not previously an e-commerce retailer, it has been involved with the industry through its mobile payment and advertising services. WeChat Pay, its digital payment service, had over 800 million monthly users in 2019. Some bloggers have made millions of yuan by displaying product advertisements on their WeChat pages.

Founded: 1998

Headquarters: Shenzhen, China

Official web: tencent.com/en-us/