Tencent Helps Tim Hortons Expand to 1,500 Outlets Across China
- WeChat operator to invest and help it expand to 1,500 outlets
- Tencent is vying with Alipay to get merchants onto its network
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Tencent Holdings Ltd. is backing a big expansion by coffee and doughnut chain Tim Hortons across China, making its latest investment in physical retail to shore up its WeChat mobile payments network.
China’s largest social media and gaming company is investing an unspecified amount in a Chinese outfit run jointly by Restaurant Brands International Inc. and the Cartesian Capital Group, the joint venture said in a statement. As part of the agreement, the internet giant will help the Canadian chain expand to some 1,500 outlets across the country from roughly 50 now, while digitizing operations and logistics.