Tencent planning push into retail sector

Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd plans to buy a 5 percent stake in hypermarket operator Yonghui Superstores Co Ltd, Yonghui said on Monday, as part of Tencent's move to push into offline retail.

The investment, which will be made through Tencent affiliate Linzhi Tencent Technology, will also see the firm take a 15 percent stake in Yonghui's supply chain and logistics subsidiary via a capital increase, the retailer said.

The deal follows a major push by Tencent's rival Alibaba Group Holding Ltd into brick-and-mortar retail, including taking a $2.9 billion stake in top Chinese grocery chain Sun Art Retail Group Ltd last month.