In Baidu, which controls more than 80 percent of market share of online search in China, has been aggressively diversifying into e-commerce, online video and online travel to bolster growth and increase competitiveness. The company has now launched a new mobile application platform, known as Baidu Yi, which is based on Googles Android and will be rolled out to mobile devices in the future. Baidu Yi will include popular applications such as maps and an online store.
The company also launched its new homepage, which will add four features, including social networking functions. Robin Li, the CEO of Baidu, has been quoted as saying that the new homepage could have a negative impact on its revenue as it will require users to register for a Baidu account, and could lead to reduction in traffic to the site. The new homepage, with more links and content, could also affect loading speed. In an interview Li said, We don't know how negative it will be.
However, the company seems to be ready to absorb losses in short term in order to secure its long-term future. Li said, No matter how big the loss would be, this represents the future of the industry. If we don't do it, others might; if we don't do it now, you might be forced to do it in the future; instead of waiting for others to push you, we would rather take the initiative. Baidu currently has 200 million registered users.
Baidus shares listed on Nasdaq are up by almost 50 percent so far this year, giving it a market value of around $50 billion. China's largest e-commerce firm, Alibaba Group, launched a smartphone running its own mobile operating system in late July. This mobile OS features cloud-based applications and Internet search.
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