Tencent In Strategic Partnership With A Portfolio Company Of Intel Capital
Tencent Holdings (OTCPK:TCEHY)(OTCPK:TCTZF), often coined as the SoftBank (OTCPK:SFTBY)(OTCPK:SFTBF) of China, has forged (document in Chinese) a strategic partnership with B-Soft Co. Ltd, a company listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange under the ticker code 300451. B-Soft is essentially a healthcare solution provider and it describes itself as being "principally engaged in the medical and health information construction business". B-Soft, a relative unknown outside of China, is actually portfolio company of Intel Capital, the global investment organization of Intel Corporation (INTC), which has invested in the company in 2011 before its IPO in May 2015.
The share price of B-Soft hit the trading limit of 10 percent in the morning session. After the mid-day break, there was some softening but the stock eventually closed the day at the upper end of the trading limit. The market reaction at Tencent was relatively muted, with the shares opening higher than the previous closing price and drifting further down during the morning session before rebounding gradually and closing 1.1 percent higher.
Source: Yahoo Finance
Source: Yahoo Finance
Tencent In Deeper Push Into Healthcare To Rival Alibaba
What is noteworthy about the announcement is the fact that while Alibaba (BABA) has long been involved in the healthcare industry led by its Alibaba Health (OTCPK:ALBBY)(OTCPK:ALBHF) unit, Tencent's engagement in the sector is still in the nascent stage. The duo is considered arch-rivals and competes across the wide spectrum of the digital ecosystem. The two infographics below do a good job in listing the respective services although the wide tentacles of the two internet giants make it extremely challenging to condense their full business interests into a simple chart.
Source: TechAsia
Source: BCG analysis
The intensification of Tencent's efforts in health care opens up another
