A division of Chinese internet services giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. will try to boost the target of its cloud business operating in Japan by the end of this year, a company official said Tuesday.

By utilizing its state-of-the-art technology in the automobile and electronics fields, China's IT company, which has provided cloud services in Japan since last year, will aim to triple its sales of 2020 from the current level, the official added.

Cloud computing enables transmission and storage of large amounts of information and data through the internet with the software. Tencent has so far concentrated mainly on collaborating with Japanese game-related enterprises in the cloud area.

In Japan, U.S. IT firms like Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. have strong influence in the cloud market. Tencent's latest attempt is expected to intensify competition among them, economists say.

Zhao Jiannan, managing director of Tencent Cloud for Northeast Asia, told Kyodo News recently, "In addition to the game business, we will strengthen services" for such fields as video distribution and manufacturing this year.

While declining to mention a specific name, Zhao said Tencent is likely to join hands with a major Japanese carmaker later this year, adding it will offer support for Japanese firms, which make use of cloud computing, so that they can tap into the Chinese market.

Zhao said Tencent and Japanese automakers can work in tandem to promote safety technologies and "connected cars" equipped with advanced telecommunication systems.

He also said that in the electronics area, Tencent will contribute to the creation of next-generation factories, where minor defects in the manufacturing process can be detected by using artificial intelligence.

"We want to develop together in the fields where Japan leads the world, including games, cars and medical services," Zhao said.

==Kyodo

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