A suddenly intensifying rivalry between Internet giants Alibaba and Tencent (HKEx: 700) is building steam, as the pair jockey for position in the fast-growing space for electronic payments and other financial services. It does seem appropriate that these 2 companies are setting the national tone in this race, as they are China’s 2 biggest Internet firms and have risen rapidly on the strength of their ability to innovate. I slightly favor Tencent in this new race due to its ability to roll out new services that complement its existing products at a relatively gradual pace. That contrasts with Alibaba’s most recent approach of launching a much wider range of services at a quicker pace, which runs the risk of overwhelming and confusing consumers.
