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Baidu Looking at Acquisitions to Extend Lead in China (Update2) – Bloomberg.com

June 22 (Bloomberg) — Baidu Inc., owner of the most popular search engine in China, is considering acquisitions to extend its lead in the world’s largest market for Internet users, Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Li said.

“People approach us and we get to look at a lot of things,” Li said in a June 19 interview from Baidu’s Beijing headquarters, declining to identify targets. “Internet is at an early stage of its development. It’s dynamic, and we need to stay ahead.”

The company is stepping up efforts in electronic commerce and mobile-Internet services in China, which has more than 300 million Web users. Baidu aims to widen its lead over Google Inc. in the country by boosting online searches for wireless phones, and its electronic-commerce business could develop into a rival for Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd.

“If they now start thinking about making acquisitions, it makes very good sense,” said Eric Wen, an analyst at Mainfirst Securities Hong Kong Ltd. who has a neutral rating on Baidu shares. The company is likely to buy Web businesses outside of the search market, he said. Baidu also may seek additional investments in Japan, where it started operations last year, Wen said.

Google, Taobao

Baidu faces rising competition in its main business, with Google forging a partnership with the country’s biggest wireless-phone company, China Mobile Ltd. Alibaba’s Taobao site also is encroaching on the search-engine market.

Taobao, Alibaba’s consumer trading site, offers an ad channel for small businesses in China, potentially forcing advertisers to choose between Baidu and Taobao, according to an April report from Morgan Stanley.

Any acquisitions won’t distract Baidu from focusing on its main search business, Li said.

There is “huge potential” to increase customers at Baidu, which had about 300,000 advertisers as of last year, Li said. The company will focus on offering Internet search services to the 40 million small and medium-sized businesses in China, said Li, who joined Baidu last year from GMAC LLC, the U.S. auto and home lender.

Baidu’s American depositary receipts fell $19.58, or 6.6 percent, to $278.02 today on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The shares have more than doubled this year, outpacing a 32 percent increase by Google, the world’s biggest search engine.

Google Deals

Google, based in Mountain View, California, gained exclusive rights to process Web queries for customers of China Mobile, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the country’s mobile-phone users. Last month, Baidu agreed to provide online search services for China Telecom Corp., which has less than 10 percent as many customers as China Mobile.

Baidu accounted for 62.2 percent of China’s paid-search market last year, an increase from 59.3 percent in 2007, according to research firm Analysys International. Google’s market share grew at a faster pace, to 27.8 percent from 23.4 percent, the Beijing-based company said.

Alibaba, whose biggest shareholder is Yahoo! Inc., will increase investments at Taobao to 5 billion yuan ($731 million) over five years, the Hangzhou, China-based company said in October. Taobao, which doesn’t charge users commissions on merchandise sales, is seeking to boost advertising revenue by allowing vendors to bid for the right to associate their products with keyword searches, Alibaba Chief Financial Officer Joseph Tsai said in February.

In September, Baidu bought an 8.3 percent stake in UiTV, a Chinese provider of Internet television services, for $15 million. Baidu may pursue investments in overseas companies, according to Li.

Baidu’s first-quarter profit rose 24 percent to 181.1 million yuan, beating analysts’ estimates, after the company added paid-search customers.

China had 316 million Web users at the end of March, the official Xinhua News Agency reported in April, citing Xi Guohua, vice minister of industry and information technology. The country overtook the U.S. in Internet users last year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Lee in Hong Kong at wlee37@bloomberg.net

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Baidu Looking at Acquisitions to Extend Lead in China

Boosted by government initiatives and green spending, China’s IT market in 2009 will only be minimally affected by the global economic slowdown, according to a new report from Springboard Research.

IT spending in the country will reach $51.2 billion in 2009, a year-on-year growth of 11 percent, the research firm said in a statement Friday. This is only 2 percent shy of Springboard’s previous estimate of 13.1 percent growth, or $52.1 billion.

China’s IT market growth, noted Springboard, has largely been protected by the financial crisis as its export industry, the country’s worst hit sector, is not a key buyer of technology. China’s huge domestic market and its “almost closed financial system” also play a part in helping the country cope with the market conditions, said Bryan Wang, Springboard’s country manager for Greater China.

“Moreover, a strong government investment plan will boost spending in various economic quarters and help the Chinese IT market sustain its place as a shining star in the Asia-Pacific region in 2009,” he added.

Last November, the Chinese government announced a $585.2 billion stimulus package, which includes plans to invest over $290 billion on railway network expansion from 2009 to 2011. This, Springboard noted in its report, highlights the market opportunity for IT products.

IT expenditure in key verticals such as government, education, and telecoms will grow on the back of the government stimulus package, said Wang. According to the report, government-driven infrastructure spending will bolster a large portion of investment in the country in 2009, while IT expenditure relating to 3G wireless networkswill also be a big area of spending for telecom operators in China in 2009. The banking and finance sector’s IT spending will remain firm, but IT planners will exercise more caution in their purchases.

In addition, green IT will be fast-growing in China–the market for green IT products and services is expected to have a five-year compound annual growth rate of 71 percent to reach $447 million in 2011.

“Springboard Research believes the green data centers and related green IT services will become a hot area for these organizations in 2009,” the report noted. “Enterprises will look to rapidly build out investments in green-field data centers, and this will also bring out the concept of virtualization and recycling with existing infrastructure, which is increasingly becoming a critical part of the investment moving forward.”

Players in the business process outsourcing (BPO) market, particularly small and midsize independent software vendors, may be the most affected by the global financial crisis, Springboard said in its report.

Many Chinese BPO companies located in cities including Dalian and Shenzhen, have a majority of their businesses from overseas banking and financial institutions, it explained, adding that these providers’ businesses would be affected in 2009 as a result of “very few” contracts secured in the second half of 2008.

Hong Kong and Taiwan, having been part of the global financial system for decades, would also be more affected by the global slowdown, Springboard added. The impact on Taiwan’s IT expenditure would be more severe, as Hong Kong is expected to gain financial support from mainland China.

According to Springboard, the Chinese government’s plans and policies will lead to a more stable IT market from the second quarter of 2009.

Vivian Yeo of ZDNet Asia reported from Singapore.

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Report: China IT spending remains strong

LOS ANGELES, CA, December 5, 2006 – Adam Wasserman, manager of Adam Wasserman LLC Assent Trading (Assent LLC) has implemented MegaMeeting.com’s browser based web and video conferencing solution in its Training department for seminars and to help train employees. With employees all over the country, MegaMeeting allows Assent to conduct trainings in their branch offices without having to incur costs for travel to a central location. According to Wasserman, in addition to increasing the productivity of its employees, “MegaMeeting saves me time and money!”

Assent LLC has been known and respected for utilizing the latest in trading technology. They are one of the largest trading firms in the country with over 25 branch offices. Assent is a self-clearing firm that utilizes the latest technology to provide its traders with a paperless, user friendly environment.

The specific features of MegaMeeting that Assent implements most often are the video conferencing capabilities that allow meeting attendees to see each other, the ability to share a PowerPoint presentation via the Internet, the built in audio (VoIP), collaboration, as well as screen sharing capabilities.

One of the main reasons Assent chose MegaMeeting over other web and video conferencing systems was due to the great customer service they received.

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MegaMeeting.com Video Conferencing Helps Assent LLC Save Time, Money and Increase Productivity

The Indiana Fire Instructors Association (IFIA) is currently using MegaMeeting.com’s browser based video and web conferencing solution in its Training department and for use by its Board of Directors. The IFIA is utilizing MegaMeeting products to conduct seminars, company meetings and to train their clients. Additionally, IFIA uses MegaMeeting’s web conferencing software for monthly Board meetings and training sessions for their association members and clients.

IFIA develops, promotes and provides instruction by administering emergency services education and training at a minimal cost through the creation of emergency services schools, seminars and conferences.

Prior to implementing MegaMeeting’s video conferencing services, Chad Abel, President of IFIA, explained that they relied on teleconferencing and travel. MegaMeeting enables them to save time and money, as well as allows their Board members, clients and members to spend more time with their families since they do not have to travel across the country for meetings.

The specific features of MegaMeeting that IFIA implements most often are the video conferencing capabilities that allow meeting attendees to see each other, audio via integrated teleconferencing, the ability to share a PowerPoint presentation via the Internet, and screen sharing capabilities.

Some of the main reasons IFIA chose MegaMeeting over other web and video conferencing systems include the pricing structure, the fact that MegaMeeting is web based and that there is no software needed for meeting participants to download or install.

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MegaMeeting.com Video Conferencing Enables Indiana Fire Instructors Association Board Members to Meet Virtually

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