Update: Tencent Establishes WeChat Business Group
36Kr, 5/06/14
Chinese internet and mobile services firm Tencent (0700.HK) has officially announced a new round of internal restructuring, establishing a WeChat Business Group responsible for the company's WeChat (Weixin) mobile messaging application and WeChat open platform, as well as Tencent's "WeChat Pay" third-party payment service, WeChat's "Wei Shenghuo" O2O m-commerce platform, and other WeChat-related services. The Group will also be responsible for development and operation of Tencent's email and address book services. As WeChat Pay is closely linked with the company's Tenpay online payment platform, a number of Tenpay team members were also transferred to the WeChat Business Group. Allen Zhang, formerly senior VP of the Guangzhou-based R&D center that houses WeChat's development team, will serve as the Group's CEO, reporting directly to Tencent President Martin Lau.
Additionally, Tencent subsidiary Tencent E-commerce Holdings, formed in May 2012 to oversee the company's e-commerce operations, has been dissolved as part of the restructuring. Among the subsidiary's various businesses, consumer electronics B2C e-commerce site 51Buy was recently merged into Beijing-based B2C e-commerce platform JD.com (Jingdong), O2O m-commerce platform "Wei Shenghuo" has been reorganized under the new WeChat Business Group, sales of virtual items will now be overseen by Tencent's Corporate Development Group (CDG), film ticket sales have been grouped under the company's Social Networking Group (SNG), and Tencent's customer service team has been reorganized under the company's Technology Engineering Group (TEG). Wu Xiaoguang, who formerly served dual roles as Tencent Executive VP and CEO of Tencent E-Commerce Holdings, will keep his post as Tencent VP.
Editor's Note: For more background on this topic, please see "Rumor: Tencent Establishes WeChat Division" MD 4/11/14 issue.
Keywords: corporate restructuring HR Martin Lau e-commerce m-commerce wireless Tenpay Tencent 0700.HK Wu Xiaoguang WeChat 51Buy Allen Zhang Jingdong WeChat Pay e-payment mobile payment mobile IM
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