Tencent to start small loan service on WeChat

Internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd is to launch a small loans service on its popular mobile messaging application WeChat, underscoring the company's ambition to expand its reach in the country's booming online finance sector.

Huang Liming, vice-president of Tencent-backed Internet bank WeBank, said the company has been testing the service - 'Weilidai', which literally means "a tiny bit of loan" - among three million selected users since May.

Without revealing when the service will be launched, Huang told an online finance forum in Beijing on Wednesday that the service will provide loans from 500 yuan to 200,000 yuan ($78-$31,400), without guarantee or collateral.