DeHeng Advised Zhaogang.com on Its B2B Deal with Tencent

2018-10-26

On October 15, 2018, Zhaogang.com, a leading iron & steel e-commerce platform in China, announced that it would found a joint venture named Pang Mao Yun (Shanghai) Technology Co., Ltd. with Linzhi Tencent Technology, a subsidiary of Tencent, to seek cooperation in the B2B sector. As the legal counsel of zhaogang.com, DeHeng contributed to the success of the deal.

As one of the first e-commerce platforms in the Chinese iron & steel industry, Zhaogang.com covers the whole industrial chain of iron & steel trade, including trade, logistics, warehousing, processing, supply chain finance, international e-commerce, and big data services. It has attracted more than 94,000 registered users in 290-plus cities in 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, and partnered up with more than 100 iron & steel companies. In addition to the national marketing network, it is expanding overseas, including the Belt and Road region, and has established foothold in the Republic of Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Myanmar and Tanzania.

Through QQ, Qidian and Corporate QQ, Tencent has accumulated a big B2B client base, rich business service experience and abundant open platforms. The partnership will leverage both sides' strengths – zhaogang.com's rich experience in B2B e-commerce operation and Tencent's advanced cloud service technologies including the IM+telephone integrated communication technology, business clustering technology, big data, AI, knowledge base, and natural language processing. With transaction-based SaaS applications, it aims to improve the transaction efficiency, better existing B2B transaction tools, and create a better client experience.

The deal was advanced rapidly. As Zhaogang.com's legal counsel, DeHeng put together a team composed of partner Zhang Lei, lawyers Fang Wen and Zhu Yun of the Shanghai Office, to provide high-quality legal services by sorting both parties' respective demands and giving full play to DeHeng's expertise in investment and financing.

DeHeng is a long-term strategic partner of Zhaogang.com and has offered the latter services regarding initial public offering, investment and private equity. It looks forward to furthering its partnership with Zhaogang.com and taking the iron & steel e-commerce industry to a new high.