Chinese internet giant Tencent joined forces with the country’s three mobile operators to set up a joint venture in Guangdong to “promote network capability for the digital economy” in the province, news portal Sohu reported.

Tencent holds a 49 per cent stake in the venture, Digital Guangdong Network Construction, which was set up on 11 October with a registered capital of CNY200 million ($30 million). China Unicom has an 18 per cent interest, while China Mobile and China Telecom each have a 16.5 per cent stake.

The news platform noted China Unicom’s higher stake is likely due to its strategic cooperation with Tencent, which is headquartered in the city of Shenzhen, Guangdong province. Sohu speculated the two companies’ 67 per cent stake would give them more leverage in decision making and help the operator push through reforms to turn around its business.

The site didn’t offer any additional detail on the nature of Digital Guangdong’s future business focus but called the venture an “extraordinary strategic cooperation” and Tencent’s move a “courageous step”.

China Unicom, although the country’s second largest operator by total mobile subscribers, lags number three China Telecom in 4G connections. China Unicom had 160 million 4G subs at end-September while China Telecom had 167.5 million. Market leader China Mobile had 622 million, giving it a 66 per cent share of total 4G subs in China.

Hong Kong-listed China Unicom announced in August it would raise funds by selling a 35 per cent stake in the company to a group of 14 investors as part of the government’s mixed-ownership reform to bring in private funding. The investors include Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent.

State-owned China Unicom established a big data company in September as it moves to forge partnerships with its new strategic investors.

On 1 November China Unicom announced its new investors made full payment in cash for the shares issued.