WeChat Eyes U.S. Market

Global Business

Facebook’s 19 billion dollar purchase of Whatsapp highlighted the growing dominance of free text messaging. And that’s convinced Chinese internet giant Tencent that its own messaging app is primed for profit. WeChat is virtually unheard of in the West. But the company thinks that’s about to change.

The firm says it has more than 270 million users every month from over 150 countries. But in the U.S., the app still is not mainstream, mostly used by Chinese students or those who communicate with friends in Asia. In the U.S., WeChat recently came out of stealth mode, by offering a promotion that rewarded U.S. users with a $25 restaurant.com gift card if they linked their Google account with WeChat. And WeChat also made a special appearance at Tencent’s all-day event at the recent Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco. CCTV’s Mark Niu reports.

WeChat Eyes U.S. Market

Facebook's 19 billion dollar purchase of Whatsapp highlighted the growing dominance of free text messaging. And that's convinced Chinese internet giant Tencent that its own messaging app is primed for profit. WeChat is virtually unheard of in the West. But the company thinks that's about to change. CCTV's Mark Niu has more.