SAN FRANCISCO/SHANGHAI, Oct 21 (Reuters) – Baidu Inc’s (BIDU.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) results and revenue forecasts beat expectations after China’s biggest search company increased its Web traffic and customers at the expense of rival Google Inc (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

Google has pulled back in China, the world’s largest Internet market with 420 million Web surfers, after it tangled with Beijing this year over censorship and hacking claims.

Baidu, whose name is taken from an ancient Song dynasty poem, now commands more than 70 percent of China’s search market and is aggressively seeking other revenue streams by diversifying into e-commerce and online video.

Baidu executives said the firm will upgrade its network servers in the coming quarters and increase its sales and research and development teams to bolster future growth.

“Overall, it is positive news that they beat the current quarter slightly, and for the next quarter they gave good guidance and the margin scalability continues to be very strong,” said Eric Wen, an analyst with Mirae Asset.

Baidu shares rose 0.5 percent to $104.09 in after-hours trading following the results, building on a 2.5 percent gain during Thursday’s regular session. The share price has more than doubled since Google’s troubles in China began in January.

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SAN FRANCISCO/SHANGHAI, Oct 21 (Reuters) – Baidu Inc’s (BIDU.O: Quote, Profile, Research) results and revenue forecasts beat expectations after China’s biggest search company increased its Web traffic and customers at the expense of rival Google Inc (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research).

Google has pulled back in China, the world’s largest Internet market with 420 million Web surfers, after it tangled with Beijing this year over censorship and hacking claims.

Baidu, whose name is taken from an ancient Song dynasty poem, now commands more than 70 percent of China’s search market and is aggressively seeking other revenue streams by diversifying into e-commerce and online video.

Baidu executives said the firm will upgrade its network servers in the coming quarters and increase its sales and research and development teams to bolster future growth.

“Overall, it is positive news that they beat the current quarter slightly, and for the next quarter they gave good guidance and the margin scalability continues to be very strong,” said Eric Wen, an analyst with Mirae Asset.

Baidu shares rose 0.5 percent to $104.09 in after-hours trading following the results, building on a 2.5 percent gain during Thursday’s regular session. The share price has more than doubled since Google’s troubles in China began in January.

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SHANGHAI, Oct 20 (Reuters) – China’s largest e-commerce firm Alibaba Group plans to invest heavily in logistics with the aim of building 32 distribution centres in China within the next 2 years, sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

The plan, in its initial stage, has no detailed investment amount but does not exclude the possibility of setting up a separate company, said one source with knowledge of the matter.

Another source said the firm wanted to expand its reach to 52 cities in two years from 20 cities. It runs its current network through external partners and distribution centres.

Both sources declined to be named as the matter is not yet public.

The expansion will enable the firm to streamline the logistics process and spur growth at one of its crown jewels, Taobao, said Paul Wuh, an analyst with Samsung Securities.

“Last year over half of the packages shipped in China were Taobao transactions, this is an industry that was built on and expanded because of Taobao,” said one source.

China’s e-commerce market was worth 119.1 billion yuan ($17.93 billion) in transaction value in the second quarter, of which Taobao had a 75.2 percent market share.

SHANGHAI, Oct 19 (Reuters) – China’s top Internet search engine Baidu Inc (BIDU.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is expected to beat quarterly estimates, boosted by surging paid clicks and an improving online advertising market.

Baidu, which has gained market share since Google’s (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) high-profile tussle with Beijing earlier this year, has seen its fledgling keyword advertising system, Phoenix Nest, stabilise and yield results in the form of higher paid clicks after a shaky start late last year, analysts said.

Analysts said events such as the World Expo in Shanghai and the upcoming Asian Games in Guangzhou helped to spur an advertising boom in the quarter, which saw China’s search market grow 59 percent year-on-year to 3.13 billion yuan ($471 million), according to iResearch. [ID:nTOE69I04B].

“We are optimistic about their earnings and we think it will beat estimates. Their customer acquisitions have been strong in the third quarter, especially in September,” said Fiona Zhou, an analyst with research firm Pacific Epoch.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S expect Baidu to post a third quarter revenue of $333.3 million, at the top end of Baidu’s own estimates of $324.4 million to $333.3 million. But the result could come in even higher, some said.

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StarMine comparative data: r.reuters.com/myt98p

SHANGHAI, Oct 12 (Reuters) – A unit of Alibaba Group, China’s largest e-commerce firm, has launched a search engine, taking aim at a lucrative market now dominated by Wall Street darling Baidu Inc (BIDU.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

Taobao, China’s largest and most popular online e-commerce website with a consumer focus, launched its public beta test of the search site, called Etao, on Saturday, a spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

“Etao is a shopping search engine launched by Taobao,” she said in a statement, referring to the site’s name.

Etao provides not only search options for e-commerce, but also a comprehensive search engine powered by Microsoft’s (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Bing search engine.

The move is a direct challenge to reigning Chinese search leader Baidu, which dominates more than 60 percent of the Chinese search market by advertising revenue.

“Advertising to people who have come already to buy something is a very attractive proposition,” Mark Natkin, director of consulting firm Marbridge Consulting, said of Etao.

“It (Etao) has the potential to pull a very valuable segment of users, by intention, from Baidu,” Natkin said.

HONG KONG/SHANGHAI, Sept 27 (Reuters) – China’s Bright Food Group is exploring the purchase of Britain’s United Biscuits, a source said on Monday, a deal that at roughly $3.2 billion would be the largest ever international purchase by a Chinese company in the food and beverage sector.

The source cautioned that while he is aware that Bright Food had hired Rothschild as an adviser, he is not privy to any current negotiations between the two companies.

Shanghai-based Bright Food controls four listed companies, including Bright Dairy & Food Co (600597.SS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), whose shares rose 4.3 percent on Monday to 10 yuan per share.

London’s Sunday Times reported on Sunday that Bright Food had pre-empted a planned auction and was in secret talks to buy the maker of McVitie’s biscuits and Twiglets for between 2 billion and 2.5 billion pounds. [ID:nLDE68P0AO]

Bright Food, which recently lost a bidding war for Australian sugar refiner CSR (CSR.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), has diverse businesses that include a taxi business in Shanghai and the production of ham and milk.

“Bright Food is now in talks about buying United Biscuits,” Chen Chunshan, a company spokesman, told Bloomberg in an interview.

When approached by Reuters, Chen denied the United Biscuit talks.

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Honeywell International is aiming to ride on the back of China’s fast-clip growth and has no limit to its potential investments in the country, a top executive said on Thursday.

Honeywell sees its China sales growing 15 to 20 percent a year over the next five years, driven by the country’s booming aerospace and automotive sectors and an increased focus on energy efficiency and environment control.

“China is the most strategic market for Honeywell,” Shane Tedjarati, Honeywell’s head of China and India operations, told Reuters in an interview.

“We continue to see 15 plus percent, 15 to 20 percent growth coming out of China,” Tedjarati said, adding that China was the single largest market outside the United States.

Honeywell, a diversified manufacturer that is global market leader in cockpit electronics, is also on the lookout for acquisitions and partnerships in China.

The firm currently has a partnership agreement with Lonon Industry, a Chinese manufacturer of electrical switches. Tedjarati said more partnerships or buys could be in the works as the firm had no investment cap in China.

“In a game where we get very good returns on investment, we have no limit, we have no limit in cash, in the size of investment; as long as the investments are good and they pass our threshold,” he said.

SHANGHAI, Sept 9 (Reuters) – Chinese Internet media firm Shanda Interactive Entertainment (SNDA.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said its quarterly profit fell to its lowest level in more than two years, as its key online games unit posted lacklustre growth amidst fierce competition.

Shanda’s online game unit, Shanda Games (GAME.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which contributed 81.7 percent to the group’s total revenue, posted a 7 percent decline in gross profit, as its blockbuster titles like “Woool” and “MirII” declined in popularity.

Shanda Games released a new game Dragon Nest in July. Analysts said the game has become a hit with gamers but the new title’s popularity was not enough to lift falling user numbers.

Shanda Games also said in a separate announcement on Wednesday that it has acquired the developer of Dragon Nest, Eyedentity Games, for approximately $95 million in cash.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year. [ID:nWNAB4371]

China’s Internet space is becoming more cut-throat as users become more sophisticated and selective over which products and services they use and companies jostle for attention in an increasingly crowded arena.

Shanda Interactive posted a second-quarter net profit of $24.8 million, or 40 cents per American Depositary Share, versus $62.5 million, or 90 cents per ADS a year earlier. Analysts were expecting earnings of 53 cents a share, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China will allow insurers to broaden their investment channels into private equity and real estate, a long-awaited move that could unleash as much as $100 billion worth of fresh funding into unlisted firms and the property sector.

Chinese insurers are allowed to invest up to 5 percent of their total assets in private equity and related financial products and 10 percent in real estate, according to rules published on the website of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CSRC) over the weekend.

A broader investment pipeline for China’s 4.5 trillion yuan ($661 billion) insurance industry could boost long-term investment returns for insurers including China Life and Ping An, benefit cash-strapped private companies, and enable private equity firms such as TPG, and the Carlyle Group to raise money more easily in China.

But the short-term impact on insurers’ earnings and share prices will be limited, as the new investments will be subject to close regulatory scrutiny, while the capital markets have been expecting the rule changes for years, analysts said.

“It’s certainly good news for the insurance sector, and may push up insurers’ long-term investment returns by 50 basis points to 5 percent annually ,” said Tong Chengdong, analyst at Guosen Securities Co in Shenzhen.

“But I don’t expect to see any big changes overnight, as it takes time to find good projects and the real estate sector is still subject to government curbs. Besides, the rule changes have long been priced into insurers’ share prices.”

The CIRC said last month that insurance firms would be allowed to invest in private equity and real estate, without publishing detailed rules. Ping An and China Life have already invested in infrastructure projects directly in a pilot scheme.

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China will allow insurers to broaden investment channels into private equity and real estate, a move that could unleash as much as $100 billion worth of fresh funding into unlisted firms and the property sector.

Chinese insurers are allowed to invest up to 5 percent of their assets in private equity and 10 percent in real estate, according to rules published on the website of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CSRC) over the weekend.

However, the rules cap insurers’ investment in private equity funds to 4 percent of total assets, and caps their investment in property-related financial products to 3 percent of assets.

In addition, insurers are banned from investing in venture capital funds and residential properties, and must not directly participate in real estate development, according to the rules.

China is broadening insurers’ investment options to help improve their returns and aims to channel more of the country’s savings into the private sector to help sustain economic growth.

The move is seen boosting the investment incomes of Chinese insurance companies such as China Life (2628.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Ping An (2318.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) in the long run.

Total assets at Chinese insurers stood at 4.5 trillion yuan ($661 billion) at the end of the second quarter, meaning insurers may potentially invest more than 450 billion yuan into real estate and 220 billion yuan into private equity, the official Shanghai Securities News reported.