1. Tencent Lets WeChat Users Buy Online Amid Alibaba Block
E-Commerce Giant blocks competitor Tencent’s new online payment on WeChat
China’s
online
e-­‐commerce
giant,
Alibaba
has
temporarily
suspended
a
function
that
allowed
sellers
to
subscribe
to
WeChat
applications
through
Alibaba.
Some
sellers
on
Alibaba
have
tried
to
steer
transactions
away
from
its
Taobao
Marketplace
and
Tmall
platforms,
and
disturbed
customers
through
promotions
on
WeChat,
Alibaba
spokeswoman
Florence
Shih
said
in
an
e-­‐mailed
statement.
Tencent
Holdnings
Ltd,
who
owns
the
popular
instant
messaging
application,
currently
has
194
million
monthly
active
users.
Thus
Tencent
is
potentially
a
mayor
competitor
to
Alibaba.
According
to
the
China
Internet
Network
Information
Center,
there
were
more
than
464
million
mobile
Internet
users
in
China
by
the
end
of
June.
Tencent
is
counting
on
WeChat
as
it
challenges
virtual
mall
operator
Alibaba
for
dominance
over
Internet
retail
in
China,
which
McKinsey
&
Co.
estimates
will
triple
to
$395
billion
from
2011
to
2015.
Alibaba,
which
is
heading
toward
what
may
be
the
biggest
IPO
since
Facebook,
has
been
buying
stakes
in
mobile
apps
as
users
spend
more
time
and
money
on
smartphones
and
tablets.
From
the
Wall
Street
Journal
For
more
information
contact
Christian
Brüel
christian.bruel@schultz-­‐co.com
at
Schultz
&
Co.