Tencent aims to lower barriers to Internet access

By QIU QUANLIN (China Daily) Updated: 2015-03-06 08:07

"The Internet will also benefit traditional industries, such as consumer goods, equipment and manufacturing and new materials," said Ma.

Ma's proposal is in line with the central government's pursuit of industrial upgrading by means of encouraging emerging industries to lead China's economic development.

In his government report, Premier Li Keqiang said that China will develop an "Internet Plus" action plan to integrate the mobile Internet, cloud computing, big data and the Internet of Things with modern manufacturing.

The plan is to encourage the sound development of e-commerce, industrial networks and Internet banking, and to encourage Internet-based companies to increase their global presence, according to Li.

In addition to the 40 billion yuan ($6.5 billion) in government funds available for investment in China's emerging industries, more money should be raised for promoting business development and innovation, according to Li.

"The plan is of great importance to boosting the Internet and related industries," said Ma.

According to Ma, Tencent will develop more Internet service platforms for third parties to help traditional businesses in their upgrading.

"The mobile Internet is like electricity, which all sectors can benefit from," said Ma.

Tencent hosted 2.4 million online platforms from 2011 to 2014, which helped create more than 5 million jobs, according to the company.

"We are not considering an A-share listing or going public in the United States. Instead, we are concentrating on our core business to create more platforms to help other industries benefit from the Internet," said Ma.