China's Baidu will reportedly enhance its investments in India and Indonesia as it aims to strengthen its position in the mobile search market in those two large countries.
Li Xinzhe, chief financial officer of Baidu, said the company can replicate its successful experience in China within those two markets. In India and Indonesia, PC user activities are comparatively lower, so mobile search development can be fast.
During the first quarter of 2015, China's smartphone shipments saw the first decline over the past six years. Meanwhile, India's smartphone shipment increased by 44% in the second quarter of 2015 and the country has become the third largest smartphone market in the world.
At present, Baidu is developing new businesses and will become a competitor to Alibaba and Tencent. Robin Li, chairman and chief executive officer of Baidu, revealed that the company will make USD12 billion cash investments to establish shopping, taxi, and delivery services. Over the past two years, Baidu had invested nearly USD1 billion in over 20 transactions, including investments in Uber, Qunar, and Iqiyi.
In addition, Baidu is implementing investments in local education and healthcare sectors, said Li Xinzhe.