Banks with a relatively weak capital position and high liabilities in the interbank business will see greater business constraints and increased pressure on profitability pressure."

Qu Jun, an analyst at GF Securities Co, commenting on a notice issued by China's banking regulator on April 12 to address regulatory loopholes and urging the country's lenders to effectively control risks.

"Linkage of WeChat payment and the merchants' membership system will enable us to provide a better shopping experience to consumers, thereby enhancing our brand reputation. Moreover, with data on WeChat Pay users, we will be able to understand our consumers better."

Wang Yifan, social media specialist with British cosmetics brand Lush, which has a number of stores in Hong Kong. WeChat Pay has launched a new service in Hong Kong, a channel for membership card applications when they paying the platform.

"India's e-commerce landscape is still in its infancy. Tencent could tap into India's vast population and gain an edge over Alibaba in combining commerce with social networks, an element that is largely missing in the Alibaba ecosystem."

Lu Zhenwang, chief executive officer of Shanghai-based Wanqing Consultancy. Tencent Holdings Ltd says it plans to take 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.

(China Daily European Weekly 04/14/2017 page24)