HONG KONG – Tencent Holdings of China has renamed its WeChat Work office collaboration app to WeCom. By doing so, it has set it up as an alternative to its messaging app WeChat much ahead of a US ban.
According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Tencent, registered the WeCom trademark on Aug. 19.
Sources said WeCom does not come under the ambit of a ban on WeChat-related transactions in the US from Sept. 20. It is one of a series of measures of the US to crack down on tech firms of China and apps which the Trump administration views as threats to national security.
WeChat features messaging, social media, payment functions and other services. It has more than a billion users and is a part of daily life in China.
It is also used by the members of the Chinese diaspora in the US.