(Yicai Global) March 29 -- Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies has obtained athird-partypayment license via an acquisition after its rival Xiaomi to challenge the mobile wallet dominance of Ant Group and Tencent Holdings.

Huawei has bought all the shares of Shenzhen-based digital payments provider Sharelink Network, according to corporate data platform Tianyancha. It didn't disclose the price of the deal.

Founded in 2013, Sharelink has a permit for internet and mobile payments, expiring in July 2024, according to public information.

The handset maker is looking to expand its mobile payments footprint. The field is currently dominated by Alipay operator Ant Group and WeChat Pay provider Tencent which occupied a combined more than 90 percent market share for the fourth straight year in 2020, according to the Payment & Clearing Association of China.

The market is fragmented. Apple and Huawei both already have their built-in wallets attached to their handsets but those have their limitations, China Securities Journal reported, citing Sun Yanbiao, president of the Mobile No. 1 Research Institute. WeChat Pay and Alipay have absolute advantages in the field but Huawei's acquisition could pave the way for the firm in the future, Sun added.

Most of the players enter the market from a hardware or software angle but Huawei has both. Several internet giants, such as JD.Com, Baidu, Meituan, ByteDance, and Pinduoduo, have all obtained internet payment licenses, but they are hindered by the limited number of users and application scenarios, according to Guosen Securities.

Shenzhen-based Huawei has sought to extend its reach to the field as early as 2016 by starting to cooperate with China UnionPay, the country's biggest card brand.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi