(Yicai Global) May 15 -- Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings and renowned venture capital firm Sequoia Capital’s China arm have injected a total USD244 million into real estate management firm Shimao Service to help digitize the firm.

Sequoia will invest USD130 million and Tencent USD114 million, the target’s parent Shimao Property Holdings said in a statement yesterday, adding that Sequoia will use its commercial resources to improve management at the firm and provide it with Internet of Things, cloud computing and big data technology.

Shares in the parent [HKD:0813] closed for lunch 3.77 percent higher at HKD31.65 (USD4.46).

Digital transformations are becoming popular in a range of sectors, especially since the pandemic, said Xia Yao, executive director at Tencent Investment. The integration of online and offline services will become more common and there will be great potential for growth at property management firms, he added.

Shimao Service and Shimao Property have both made multiple acquisitions in the property management sector, with the subsidiary running contracts covering more than 100 million square meters of real estate, up 42.9 percent annually, in 60 Chinese cities as of the end of last year. Its 2019 revenue reached CYN2.7 billion (USD380.6 million), up 68 percent on the year, and it serves around 2.4 million users and property owners.

Shimao Property revealed last month that it plans to spin off the unit, and a hotel management subsidiary, onto the Hong Kong Stock Exchange within the next few years. Some 12 property services firms went public last year, taking the China total to 26, with 23 of them in Hong Kong.

Editors: Zhang Yushuo, James Boynton