Baidu Considers A-Share Listing
Sina Tech, 6/29/10
Jennifer Li, CFO of Chinese internet firm Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), recently disclosed that Baidu is discussing the possibility of a domestic A-share offering with relevant government agencies, but has no specific spin-off plans or timetable. Baidu has not yet determined which of its businesses it might spin off for a domestic A-share listing and so has not drawn up a detailed timetable, but reportedly "sees no obstacles to doing so." Baidu is currently discussing the matter with consultants.
Li said that Baidu will make further investments in new online businesses, and search engine market share is no longer a major concern. Market share has become less important for Baidu, according to Li, with the focus shifting to how to grow the size of the entire search engine marketing "pie."
Li added that Baidu has nearly 8,000 employees, including approximately 3,000 technical staff and 4,000 sales employees. Baidu will launch a recruiting drive in Silicon Valley next week.
Zhu Guang, senior director of marketing and public relations, revealed that between April 16 and June 30 Baidu has been carrying out promotional activities in 101 cities across China to reach out to nearly 100,000 SME customers. Baidu's strategy going forward is to not only focus on second-tier and third-tier cities, but also on SMEs concentrated in first-tier cities and provincial capitals.
Editor's Note: According to foreign media reports, Baidu plans to hire 30 mid- to senior-level software engineers at a Silicon Valley job fair on July 10.
Keywords: online advertising Zhu Guang Jennifer Li Internet strategy Baidu A-share SME spin-off BIDU listing HR online search
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