Tencent and Alibaba are teaming up with Sinopec and CNPC.
Sinopec's Easy Joy service station store Image: Sinopec |
As competition in China's booming e-commerce market intensifies, its two biggest players are teaming up with oil & gas giants to broaden their existing portfolios. CNPC and Sinopec will also benefit from the existing online user base and digital awareness of China's most successful Internet companies.
Jack Ma, Chairman of Alibaba Group, has penned an agreement to collaborate with CNPC on cloud computing, mobile payments and internet-based payments. In return for helping the state-owned enterprise, Alibaba will also gain access to more than 20,000 gas stations around China that could ultimately become vendors of its popular Alipay mobile commerce solution.
Meanwhile, Tencent, Alibaba's biggest rival, is working with Sinopec to facilitate mobile payments and help with media marketing, especially through its instant messaging and social media platforms QQ and WeChat. Sinopec is China's largest fuel distributor and runs more than 30,000 gas stations nationwide, creating a large m-commerce opportunity for Tencent through its popular Tenpay system.
Bringing state-owned companies into the digital age is a priority for the Chinese government, which is keen to promote its Internet Plus initiative aimed at capitalising on indigenous digital expertise.