Tencent teams with Thai start-up Ookbee to launch content platform
Tencent’s further expansion in Thailand comes as more Chinese internet companies look towards Southeast Asia for new engines of growth
Chinese internet giant Tencent has teamed up with Thai start-up Ookbee to launch a digital content platform as the Shenzhen-based company buckles down on expanding its presence in Southeast Asia.
Both Tencent and Ookbee have entered a joint venture that will spawn the launch of Ookbee U, a user-generated digital content platform. Tencent’s investment amounts to US$19 million, according to tech news site Techcrunch, which cited an unnamed source.
The Ookbee U content ecosystem will comprise comics, music, blogs, and stories contributed by users, with an aim to generate over 1 million content items over three years.
“This joint venture reinforces our commitment to Thailand and supports our Thailand strategy to grow our digital content platforms,” Poshu Yeung, vice president of Tencent’s International Business Group said in a statement. “We are confident that our investment into Ookbee U will further strengthen our position to capture the promising potential in the dynamic local creative media market.”
Ookbee U is not Tencent’s first foray into the region. Thailand’s popular web portal Sanook Online, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tencent, in December 2016 rebranded itself as Tencent (Thailand).
Tencent (Thailand) also operates Joox, the country’s top music-streaming app which has over 20 million registered users in Thailand.