Sites Battle for Chinese Web Users

From Wall Street Journal:

China’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. plans to invest five billion yuan, or about $725 million, in its Taobao.com online shopping site over the next five years, the latest sign of an intensifying battle with Chinese Internet-search giant Baidu.com Inc.

Alibaba Group’s investment more than doubles an earlier plan to spend two billion yuan on Taobao and is more than three times the 1.5 billion yuan Alibaba has invested in the site since it was established in 2003.

The move comes as Baidu is gearing up to challenge Taobao’s status as China’s No. 1 auction site by sales volume. Baidu last month started testing its consumer e-commerce platform, with 10,000 sellers drawn from across China. Baidu Youa, which translates as “Baidu Got It!,” is expected to open before year end. The company declined to reveal how much it is spending.

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