Bottom line: Baidu’s opening of a new artificial intelligence lab in Silicon Valley is the latest move in its AI obsession, which is likely to end in failure and a quiet pullback in around two years due to mediocre execution.
Baidu in new Silicon Valley R&D lab
I’m officially dubbing Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) chief executive Robin Li the “two-year attention span man”, with word that the company is setting up a new Silicon Valley office in the rush to build up its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. If any one of China’s “big three” Internet chiefs deserves the title of “short attention span” man, it’s most definitely Robin Li. As far as I can remember, Li has been a “flavor of the moment” guy who fixates on the latest daily hot trend, most often to jettison the idea around 2 years later when it falls out of fashion. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on June 17. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) Rejects Investment Proposal From CEO, Seeks Other Options (PRNewswire)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 17. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) Plans Russia Entry in Tie-Up with Yandex – Reports (Chinese article)
Bottom line: Baidu’s new upscale online shopping mall looks more focused and well designed than its earlier e-commerce initiatives, but could have a difficult time finding an audience due to stiff competition.
Baidu tries e-commerce again with upscale mall
Online search leader Baidu(Nasdaq: BIDU) is hoping the third time is the charm for its drive into e-commerce, with the formal launch of its new online mall with a distinctly foreign flavor targeting high-end shoppers. I’ve followed Baidu for a long time now, and the company certainly has a poor track record in e-commerce and more broadly for homegrown initiatives like this latest one called Baidu Mall.
But that said, the company has found more success recently by buying assets outside its core online search area, and then giving them access to its own vast cash and other resources to help them quickly gain market share. Perhaps it’s hoping to use that strategy as well for the newly launched Baidu Mall, even though the platform itself seems to be Baidu’s own creation rather than an acquisition. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Tuniu is likely to quickly resolve a revolt by some of its third-party travel agents, and a sell-off of its shares looks overdone, while Rakuten’s third foray into China could finally succeed thanks to its choice of a more suitable partner.
Rakuten invests in Fanli
We’ll close out this week with a couple of stories buzzing through the Internet realm, led by a travel agent rebellion against online travel site Tuniu (Nasdaq: TOUR). Meantime, Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten (Tokyo: 4755) is taking its third try at the China market through a new investment in an e-commerce company called Fanli.com, following failed previous forays with leading online travel agent Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) and online search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU).
These 2 stories are mostly linked by the fact that both involve Internet companies. But in a twist that looks purely coincidental, Rakuten was also one of the earlier investors in Tuniu before the latter made its New York IPO early last year. It’s not clear if Rakuten still holds that stake in Tuniu, but if it does its shares just lost nearly 5 percent after a Thursday sell-off on reports of the merchant revolt. But Tuniu’s shares are about 75 percent above their IPO price, meaning its early investors are still doing quite well. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: New global e-commerce moves by JD and LightInTheBox look well conceived and could yield some strong results, while Baidu’s new e-commerce investment reflects its lack of focus and broader strategy in the space.
LightInTheBox opens US warehouse
A flurry of e-commerce moves are in the headlines today, including new globalization steps by number-two player JD.com (Nasdaq: JD) and the struggling LightInTheBox (NYSE: LITB). Meantime, search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) is also in the headlines as it searches for its own e-commerce business model, with reports it has made a major investment in a site being developed by PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992). The flurry of moves reflects the hyperactive state of competition in China’s e-commerce market, which requires constant innovation in order to survive. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Alibaba’s new online credit product and global shopping mall look like smart new initiatives that could help maintain its strong growth to justify its high valuation.
Alibaba financial unit trials credit product
It’s been quite a while since I’ve written about the actual business of e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), which has captured global headlines for much of the last 4 months for mostly financial reasons after its record-breaking IPO in September. So on that note, I was quite happy to finally read new headlines on some smart-looking moves the company is making to justify its sky-high valuation, which is built on expectation for continuing super-charged growth.
One of those initiatives has Alibaba’s finance unit rolling out a product that looks like a variation of traditional cards, and is aimed at getting shoppers to spend even more on its popular e-commerce platforms. The other is an update on its new global e-commerce initiative that looks like it’s gaining some strong early momentum, at least according to the company’s own telling of the story. Read Full Post…
When does an 87 percent rise in your share price in just 3 months make you a laggard? The answer: When your name is online travel agent Qunar (Nasdaq: QUNR), and the 87 percent rise makes you the worst performer among a quartet of Chinese Internet companies to make New York IPOs at the end of last year. The sudden surge in investor interest towards these companies will almost certainly lead many Chinese Internet firms to speed up their New York listing plans in the first quarter of this year, starting off with word that Tuniu, another online travel services firm, is accelerating its plans for a listing in the next few months. Read Full Post…
Everyone is talking about the latest blockbuster acquisition by online search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), so I thought I’d get in my own quick thoughts on its purchase of one of China’s leading wireless apps suppliers. In some ways, Baidu’s purchase of 91Wireless for up to $1.9 billion looks like a smart move that will help it diversify beyond its core search business. But in others, the move seems to reflect an M&A strategy lacking focus, since the app business doesn’t really complement any of Baidu’s other core product areas. Read Full Post…
After several misguided e-commerce initiatives that ended in failure, Internet giant Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) is finally making what looks like a smart move in the highly competitive space by focusing on what it does best: providing search services. In this case, media are reporting that China’s dominant provider online search company has quietly launched an e-commerce search engine, in what looks like a direct challenge to e-commerce leader Alibaba’s own eTao e-commerce search site.
If you can’t build it yourself, then go out and buy it. That looks like the message coming from leading search engine Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), which has just raised a tidy $1.5 billion in its first-ever bond offering that could be used in part for acquisitions as the company looks to diversify. Baidu surprised many, myself included, with this massive new bond offering, which comes as growth for its core search business shows signs of slowing sharply.
After several misguided e-commerce initiatives that ended in failure, Internet giant Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) is finally making what looks like a smart move in the highly competitive space by focusing on what it does best: providing search services. In this case, media are reporting that China’s dominant provider online search company has quietly launched an e-commerce search engine, in what looks like a direct challenge to e-commerce leader Alibaba’s own eTao e-commerce search site.
If you can’t build it yourself, then go out and buy it. That looks like the message coming from leading search engine Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), which has just raised a tidy $1.5 billion in its first-ever bond offering that could be used in part for acquisitions as the company looks to diversify. Baidu surprised many, myself included, with this massive new bond offering, which comes as growth for its core search business shows signs of slowing sharply.
