China-based Tencent is partnering with one of Hong Kong’s largest property developers, Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP), to promote use of the internet giant’s WeChat mobile payment service in the territory.
The two companies are offering HKD13 million ($1.66 million) in special promotions to encourage customers to pay with WeChat Pay HK rather than use cash or credit cards. The campaign started this week and runs at SHKP’s 23 major malls, department stores and supermarkets. Its subsidiary SmarTone, a mobile operator, also is taking part in the campaign, which runs until the end of November.
Jim Lai, a VP at Tencent and head of Tencent Financial Technology Group (pictured, right), said: “By combining SHKP’s expertise in retail and Tencent’s leading technologies, we aim to enhance the consumer experience and empower consumers through greater flexibility and convenience as they go about their daily lives. We look forward to deepening our strategic cooperation with SHKP in the future.”
Christopher Kwok, executive director of SHKP (pictured, left), said the announcement marks a change in shopping and spending for all of its customers in Hong Kong, adding “through this cooperation, we are spearheading the mall of the future – a new generation, high-tech mall that puts customer experience at the heart of its offering.”
Tencent has pushed to expand use of its mobile payment service in Hong Kong, which is dominated by the Octopus stored-value card, since it was awarded a stored-value facilities licence from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in September 2016.
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