Tencent to boost development of WeChat app

Tencent Holding Ltd, a Shenzhen-based provider of Internet services, will speed up the commercialization process of its popular WeChat messaging application as part of its global expansion strategy, the company's top manager said.

Ma Huateng, Tencent's CEO, said the company is planning to build an open platform so that Internet service developers are able to provide more features for WeChat users.

"We are developing value-added services for the application, especially in the mobile social contacts and online games sectors," Ma, who is also a deputy from Shenzhen, said during the annual session of National People's Congress in Beijing.