(Yicai Global) July 16 -- The alleged opening-up of the previously restricted ecosystems of China’s two leading internet giants, Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding, could change the logic of the whole industry while benefitting startups, according to experts.

The business landscape and investing targets will change and the logic of splurging money to acquire users would not be necessary any longer, Wang Peng, senior analyst in the financial sector, said to Yicai Global.

Hangzhou-based Alibaba may start accepting payments via mobile wallet WeChat Pay on its e-commerce platforms, Bloomberg reported yesterday. In turn, Tencent may allow sharing of Alibaba's online retail content on social media application WeChat.

Neither of the companies has commented on the report yet.

Some changes can already be seen. On WeChat, users can now find mini-programs of Alibaba's second-hand marketplace Xianyu and supermarket chain Freshippo.

Appeasing Market Regulators

The move could relieve the huge anti-monopoly review pressures and improve the pair's e-commerce and financial business, Zhang Xiaorong, dean of Deepin Technology Research Institute, said to Yicai Global.

Market regulators have been keeping a close eye on the two companies this year. Both of the firms were fined earlier this month for rule-breaking mergers and acquisitions. In May, Alibaba reported its first quarterly loss since going public in 2014 after being required to pay a fine of CNY18.2 billion (USD2.8 billion) for abusing its dominant market position.

However, the benefits of cooperation would not be equal. Alibaba has many users, and its market penetration rate is high, so it can only gain a limited number of new users through WeChat, said Li Chengdong, founder of Dolphin Think Tank.

Moreover, sharing data could cause some lost edge. User data dominance would be shaken up, which may mean leaked business secrets and increased competition, Zhang added.

The pair's shares were not majorly affected by the new prospects. Alibaba's Hong Kong-listed equity price [HKG: 9988] was 0.3 percent down in the afternoon after closing up 2 percent at HKD210.6 (USD27.10) yesterday. Tencent’s stock price [HKG: 0700] climbed 1.5 percent to HKD565 yesterday.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi