Tencent embarks on Indian adventure

Tencent Holdings Ltd said it plans to bring to India its extensive experience linking social networking and e-commerce through a new strategic investment in Flipkart, the country's biggest e-commerce firm.

As a strategic investor, Tencent said it is poised to help Flipkart deliver "compelling" experiences to Indian users in e-commerce and payments, as the Chinese internet giant moves beyond the traditional realm of gaming that has found a strong presence in the region.

The total value of the Flipkart investment, announced on Monday, was $1.4 billion. The biggest investment was made by Tencent, but other backers were such tech giants as eBay Inc and Microsoft Corp.