China central bank approves Tencent’s Tenpay capital boost to 15.3 billion yuan

CHINA’S central bank has approved Tencent Holdings’ online payment platform Tenpay boosting its registered capital to 15.3 billion yuan (S$2.8 billion), according to a central bank statement on Friday (Mar 15).

The approval will make Tenpay the non-bank payment institution with the highest registered capital in China, Chinese state-backed media outlet The Paper said.

Founded in 2006, the Chinese payment company’s current registered capital stands at one billion yuan.

Tenpay offers payment licences and technical support for Tencent’s WeChat Pay and QQ Wallet, The Paper said.

The Chinese authorities previously fined the Shenzhen-based firm nearly three billion yuan over issues such as customer data management during a crackdown on the country’s financial technology industry that ended last year. REUTERS