Tencent revealed in its latest financial report that the company has acquired 13.54% of Korean mobile communication app KakaoTalk with US$ 63.7 million. The deal was completed in last month.
KakaoTalk, which supports iOS, Android, Blackberry and of course Samsung’s Bada platform, shares the similar functions that Tencent’s WeChat has, like free text messaging, stranger social networking, group chatting and so on. That’s why some see it as the Korean WeChat.
As of now KakaoTalk boasts more than 42 million registered users.
From last year on KakaoTalk strived to make some revenue through advertising and paid emotions with little yields, the company incurred a loss of more than RMB 80 million since its founding three years ago.
Tencent has a tradition of investing in southeast Asia market, especially in South Korea, while its past deals mainly involved in gaming companies.
The China southern Shenzhen-based company is actively pushing WeChat into overseas market. Formerly known as Weixin in Chinese, Tencent lately rebranded the app to WeChat which makes more sense for English-speaking community, a move highlighted the firm’s determination in internationalizing the service.
Leave a comment