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The online mall will provide customers with high-quality merchandise from
well-known Chinese and foreign brands as well as small and medium sized
enterprises at competitive prices. Expected to go live in the second half of
2010, the mall is anticipated to be the largest online B2B2C shopping mall in
Founded in 1997, and currently ranked 2nd in the global B2C e-commerce
market, Rakuten is a pioneer in the B2C industry. The company operates Rakuten
Ichiba,
"This is a very exciting development for Baidu," said Ren Xuyang, Baidu's
vice president of marketing and business development. "As the Chinese Internet
space continues its rapid development, an increasing number of businesses and
consumers are engaging in e-commerce. I believe the platform that Rakuten and
Baidu build will provide users with a diversified, satisfying shopping
experience while driving the broader development of
"Baidu, with its vast reach and deep user loyalty, is the perfect compliment to Rakuten's extensive experience in the online B2C sector," commented Kentaro Hyakuno, senior executive officer of Rakuten, Inc. "Through this joint venture, we not only are committed to providing users with the best possible online shopping environment, but also aim to create a superior platform that will grow alongside small and medium sized enterprises as well as the leading Chinese and global brands."
About Baidu
Baidu, Inc. is the leading Chinese language Internet search provider. As a technology-based media company, Baidu aims to provide the best way for people to find information. In addition to serving individual Internet search users, Baidu provides an effective platform for businesses to reach potential customers. Baidu's ADSs, each of which represents one Class A ordinary share, are currently trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "BIDU."
About Rakuten, Inc.
In
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements
are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be
identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future,"
"intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "confident" and similar
statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements
about Baidu's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Among
other things, quotations from management in this announcement contain
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those contained in any forward- looking statements. A number of factors could
cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any
forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: our
growth strategies; our future business development, including development of
new products and services; our ability to attract and retain users and
customers; competition in the Chinese and Japanese language Internet search
markets; competition for online marketing customers; changes in our revenues
and certain cost or expense items as a percentage of our revenues; the outcome
of ongoing, or any future, litigation or arbitration, including those relating
to intellectual property rights; the expected growth of the Chinese language
Internet search market and the number of Internet and broadband users in
For investor and media inquiries please contact:
BAIDU:
In China:
Mr. Victor Tseng
Baidu, Inc.
Tel: +86-10-5992-7244
Email: ir@baidu.com
Ms. Cynthia He
Brunswick Group LLC
Tel: +86-10-6566-9504
Email: che@brunswickgroup.com
In the U.S.:
Ms. Kate Tellier
Brunswick Group LLC
Tel: +1-212-333-3810
Email: ktellier@brunswickgroup.com
RAKUTEN:
For Media:
Public Relations
Rakuten, Inc.
Tel: +81-3-6387-1104
Email: pr@rakuten.co.jp
For Investors:
Investor Relations
Rakuten, Inc.
Tel: +81-3-6387-0555
Web: http://corp.rakuten.co.jp/en/ir/
SOURCE Baidu, Inc.