Tencent is developing a credit scoring system as it ramps up its battle with rival Alibaba for a share of China’s $5.5tn mobile payments market. Ant Financial, Alibaba’s payments affiliate, launched its Sesame Credit two years ago, parlaying its data on consumers into a measure of their trustworthiness, providing comfort for small businesses and consumers […]
Category: Consumer
Marriott International said on Monday it would partner with China’s Alibaba Group to tap into the growing number of Chinese citizens who travel abroad, Reuters reports. The world’s biggest hotel chain said the joint venture with Alibaba would allow Chinese travelers to book rooms at Marriott hotels via Alibaba’s travel service platform, Fliggy. Travelers will […]
PayPal has formed a partnership with Chinese tech giant Baidu in a drive to compete in the world’s biggest mobile payments market, which is dominated by domestic titans Ant Financial and Tencent, the Financial Times reports. The partnership, announced on Thursday morning, allows Baidu Wallet users to make online purchases outside China by linking their […]
Coffee chain Starbucks Corp said on Thursday it would buy the remaining 50% share of its East China business from its joint venture (JV) partners for about $1.3 billion, in its biggest ever acquisition. China is Starbucks’ fastest-growing market outside the United States by number of stores. The cash deal will give Starbucks ownership of […]
The number of smartphones sold in China was flat in the second quarter, as the world’s largest market showed signs of saturation after years of booming sales fueled by cutthroat competition. But Caixin reports the situation is likely to pick up later this year, and overall sales value is likely to grow as more consumers […]