Amid THADD Retaliation
Chinese internet business company Tencent will resume its investment in Korean content companies with great growth potential. It is forecast that Tencent’s resumption of investment in Korean contents companies will give much-awaited time to take a breather to Korean contents companies that have not been unable to export to China due to the Chinese government’s restriction on Korean products and services since the deployment of the THAAD in Korea.
According to the contents industry on October 15, Tencent is currently discussing a project to foster and support Korea start-ups’ business in China with the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA).
Tencent and KOCCA discussed the provision of some space in the Tencent start-up training center located in Shenzhen's special economic zone, the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, to the Korean content start-up.
As a result, start-ups are expected to enter the Tencent Start-up Training Center under the name of the KOCCA. The KOCCA has agreed to lease space for 20 people (based on desk space) with Tencent. The space can accommodate five to six start-ups as one start-up usually has three to four employees.
It is noteworthy whether or not other Chinese companies will follow suit as Tencent began to invest in Korean contents companies. According to the KOCCA, the headquarters of big Chinese internet business companies and game distributors such as Tencent, Alibaba, 360 will move into the Software Industrial Complex within the next three years.
"In the case of small content start-ups, it is virtually impossible for them to start their business in Korea and enter the Chinese market and do business in China. They can expand possibilities of succeeding in China by developing business with Chinese companies from the beginning of their business,” said an official at the KOCCA. "The atmosphere is not good because of the THAAD issue but there are a lot of Chinese companies which want to do business with Korean contents companies."
Meanwhile, it is said that Tencent recently bought some equities in Bluehole, the developer of online game “Battleground,” which is currently gaining in popularity in the North American market for about 70 billion won (US$63 million). Tencent secured a stake of about 5% by purchasing equities in Bluehole owned by Korean and foreign venture capital companies.