Tencent will invest $200 million in Zhuan Zhuan, online secondhand trading unit of New York-listed 58.com, to tap the boom in online flea market.
Tencent will invest the money in cash and additional business resources for a minority stake in the used goods listing platform and certain used goods listing channels from 58.com and Ganji, according to a joint statement yesterday.
"We are looking forward to accelerated growth in this market with more support from Tencent, and online transactions of used goods are very underdeveloped in China, but mobile technology and increasing user awareness are starting to create significant new opportunities," Yao Jingo, chairman and CEO of 58.com, said in a statement.
The transaction is set to close in the second quarter of 2017.
Tencent invested $736 million for 20 percent in 58.com in 2014.
Trading of used goods in China is estimated at over 400 billion yuan ($58 billion) due to rising online payment.
