On March 12, Rakuten announced that China's tech giant Tencent, Japan Post Holdings and U.S. retail giant Walmart will take a stake in the company. Citigroup publishes a research report that Tencent will become the sixth largest shareholder after the transaction is completed.
Citigroup believes that Tencent’s strategic investment in Rakuten and potential business cooperation between the two companies can bring a win-win situation.
It is believed that Rakuten can learn from Tencent’s successful examples in digital wallet system, smart retailing and applets. And Tencent’s advantages in digital entertainment content, especially games, video and sports, can also strengthen Rakuten’s services.
While for Tencent, the strategic cooperation can help increase its exposure to the Japanese market, further understanding the local culture and user habits, which is conducive to the distribution of games in Japan. Besides, it can also increase the penetration of WeChat Pay in the local market.
Tencent has a target price of HK$876 with a “buy” rating.
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