Alibaba and Tencent's war can make or break investors

Proxy battles abound, such as the vicious fight for market share between Ele.me and Meituan Dianping. Investors and entrepreneurs should take care not to get trapped in the middle.

A battle royale in online food delivery is underway across China.

Mobile apps are vying for the attention of China’s burgeoning middle classes who are increasingly partial to ordering take-out meals via their smartphones due to their busy lifestyles and the country’s traffic congestion.

The nimble startups are spending money lavishly, heavily subsidising menus to gain market share at the same time as paying fleets of bikers to deliver piping-hot food to customers within 30 minutes.   

Decisive factors in the looming showdown will be how strong your allies are and the start-ups' capital-raising prowess. Accordingly, some of the world’s largest investors...

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