The
American Chamber (AmCham) in Shanghai said 88% of 142
respondents to a survey it conducted of firms subject to U.S.
jurisdiction this week expected negative impact on operations
stemming from the loss of WeChat as a communication tool.
U.S. President Donald Trump this month announced an executive
order banning WeChat-related U.S. transactions from
mid-September citing national security. His administration is
yet to detail the types of transactions affected.
WeChat is operated by Tencent Holdings Ltd <0700.HK>, China's
biggest social media and gaming firm. It has clocked a
relatively small 19 million downloads in the United States,
showed data from Sensor Tower, yet is a ubiquitous platform in
China for services as varied as games and payment. It is also
used communicate with individuals and businesses outside China.
AmCham Shanghai said over a third of respondents to its survey
said the WeChat ban could lead to a loss of global revenue, with
nearly 5% saying the hit could exceed 5%.
Over 70% of respondents, however, said there would be little or
no revenue impact should the executive order be limited to
transactions within the United States, AmCham said.
Of the respondents, 88% said they used WeChat primarily as a
communication tool with employees while 78% use it for
marketing. Over 36% have partnership and content relationships
with WeChat parent Tencent, the survey showed.
Tencent on Aug. 12 said it did not believe the ban would apply
to its domestic equivalent Weixin, which could limit its impact
on the company.
(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
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