Tencent to buy stake in mapping company for $187mn

Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings (0700.HKG) agreed to acquire a 11.3% stake in digital mapping provider NavInfo for US$187 million, the latest deal after a string of similar buyups earlier this year, Bloomberg reported. Tencent, owner of the WeChat instant messaging application, will buy 78 million NavInfo shares from that company’s state-owned parent China Siwei Surveying & Mapping Technology, according to a Shenzhen Stock Exchange filing today. Siwei’s stake will fall to 12.6%. The purchase could help Tencent defend services such as restaurant recommendations against Alibaba Group, China’s largest e-commerce company.