(Yicai Global) Feb. 8 -- The chairmen of China Resources Holdings Co. and tech titan Tencent Holdings Ltd. and are in talks to help the state-owned conglomerate explore opportunities online, but may also be looking at a tie-up in the retail sector.

Fu Yuning visited Tencent top dog Pony Ma at the latter's headquarters in Shenzhen this week, retail news outlet Linkshop reported. China Resources has ample offline customers, but wants to transform the sectors it operates in and take them online, Fu said.

The conglomerate's property arm, China Resources Land Ltd., struck a deal with Tencent in Shanghai in September, under which the pair will create smart industrial parks and develop online payments, Big Data and the Internet of Things. Prior to the agreement, the internet firm made several investments in the retail sector and is still making more, which could leak into the latest discussions.

Tencent announced early this month that it had purchased a 5.31-percent stake in menswear brand Heilan Home Co. for CNY2.5 billion (USD396 million). It also partnered Better Life Commercial Chain Share Co., which operates Chinese smartphone maker Vivo, to progress in smart retail.

China Resources owns four retail units, covering drinking water, beer, meat processing and supermarkets. China Resources Vanguard Co. is one of the largest superstore chains in the country.