Internet giant Tencent pledges to invest in Wuhan as city emerges from coronavirus lockdown

Wuhan, where the first cases of the novel coronavirus were detected, is ending a 76-day lockdown

A day before the lockdown was fully lifted, Tencent announces a slew of initiatives focused on helping to revive the digital industry in the city

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Passengers leaving Wuhan city are pictured at the Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan city, central China's Hubei province, on Wednesday morning, April 08, 2020. Photo: SCMP/Simon Song

Published: 6:00pm, 8 Apr 2020Updated: 6:00pm, 8 Apr 2020

A day before China lifted a months-long lockdown of Wuhan city, the initial epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings pledged to invest in digital government, online education and artificial intelligence (AI) in the city, among other fields.

“During the epidemic, Tencent has been supporting Hubei and Wuhan’s fight against the virus through funds and technology,” the company best known for its gaming business said in a statement posted on Tuesday on WeChat. “In the future, we will also fully support Wuhan’s post-pandemic reconstruction and continue to support the development of Wuhan's digital industry.”

China’s major tech companies have played a big role in the fight against the coronavirus, and are now playing their part in the economic recovery of Wuhan and other areas that have suffered under extended travel restrictions and business closures.

Last week, China’s biggest e-commerce services providers Alibaba Group Holding, JD.com and Pinduoduo each announced their own initiatives to help revive sales of farm goods from Hubei as the province emerges from its months-long lockdown.

Popular mobile payments app Alipay also created a dedicated section for Wuhan merchants to allow users to buy from merchants in the city, and offered loans to small local merchants in need of financial support, according to an Alipay statement. Alipay is operated by Ant Financial, an affiliate of Alibaba, which owns the South China Morning Post.

Wuhan, an industrial powerhouse for the steel, semiconductors and automotive sectors, is emerging from an unprecedented lockdown which began on January 23 and prevented people from moving in and out of the city.

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