Plans by Alibaba Group Holding to launch bargain online shopping platform Taobao Deals as a mini-program on Tencent Holdings’ ubiquitous super app WeChat, have apparently hit a snag, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Tencent, which runs the world’s largest video games business by revenue and China’s biggest social network, has suspended testing Taobao Deals on WeChat, as there is little substantial progress at the current stage, according to an Alibaba executive who declined to be named. Alibaba, which owns the South China Morning Post, had confirmed four weeks ago that it filed an application to Tencent to open a mini-program on WeChat.