Tencent, Dianping invest in Wiwide

SHANGHAI - Chinese Internet giant Tencent Inc and Yelp-like review website Dianping.com have invested 300 million yuan ($49 million) in public Wifi service provider Wiwide.com, the companies said on Monday.

Wiwide, China's first commercial WiFi operator, currently provides WiFi network services in 30,000 public areas, including 20 airports and 500 chain outlets like Starbucks.

With the rise of Internet shopping and e-payment systems, WiFi has become a necessity for the increasingly-connected Chinese.

"As a leading online consumption platform, the investment will help Dianping connect offline shops and online consumers and expand its O2O (online-to-offline) business," Dianping said in a statement.

Wiwide has received two rounds of investment in the past two years from venture capital Greenwoods Asset Management and Xiaomi Technology Co Ltd, the world's third largest smartphone distributor.

In February this year, Tencent bought a 20 percent stake in the Shanghai-based Dianping, which offers restaurant reviews and group buying services.