Bottom line: Baidu’s crackdown on internal corruption and big jump in a ranking of global media firms are both good publicity, but won’t change the fact that it’s facing sharply slowing growth over the next year.
Baidu probes 3 directors for corruption
Following a bruising battle with some of its leading advertisers in March, leading search engine Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) is in the headlines this week on a more positive note with a report it is cracking down on internal corruption. At the same time Baidu is in a separate similarly positive headline that shows it is quickly climbing the ladder on a list of global media companies, surpassing much older rivals like Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT).
The first of these headlines casts a spotlight on the many corrupt practices that frequently occur in China’s young business culture, such as preferential treatment for customers who pay “special” fees and bribe individual employees. Such practices were almost certainly a factor behind the high-profile spat that saw one of China’s largest associations of hospital owners boycott Baidu’s advertising services in March, dealing a significant blow to Baidu. (previous post) Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Qihoo’s apparent attempt to unify its various products around the 360.com brand looks smart strategically, but it needs to improve its search and cellphone businesses to win back investor interest.
Qihoo pays record for 360.com domain
I’m not usually someone to write about publicity stunts, but one such new ploy by struggling security software maker Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) has piqued my interest as it hints at some major new strategic moves. The actual news is quite straightforward, saying Qihoo has paid a record $17 million for the 360.com web domain. This news was almost certainly leaked by Qihoo, since companies pay large sums for domains all the time and the news never makes big headlines since it is kept private. That hints that Qihoo may have big plans for 360.com, most likely as a platform to unify its current stable of domains and brands. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: UCWeb’s new India tie-up with Facebook looks like a good step that will help its global expansion, while Qihoo’s new Microsoft alliance looks mostly like inconsequential hype.
UCWeb ties with Facebook in India
A couple of new corporate tie-ups are in the headlines today, led by word of a potentially major new alliance between Alibaba-owned (NYSE: BABA) web browser UCWeb and global social networking giant Facebook (Nasdaq: FB). The other tie-up, which looks far less interesting but still potentially significant, and will see security software specialist Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) work with Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) in advertising services. This second alliance is just the latest in a long recent string for Qihoo, and seems aimed at breathing life into its struggling stock that is being rapidly abandoned by impatient and disappointed investors. Read Full Post…
