BEIJING, Nov. 8 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Baidu Inc. (Nasdaq: BIDU), the
leading Chinese Internet search provider, and eBay EachNet, the leading
e-commerce company in China, today announced an agreement to collaborate in
new ways that will enable each company to better serve their millions of
users, merchants and advertisers in China.
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The multi-year agreement is focused on three areas of enhanced
cooperation: Baidu will promote PayPal Beibao, PayPal’s service in China, as
the preferred online payment method on Baidu. In return, Baidu will become
the exclusive provider of text-based search advertising on eBay EachNet,
eBay’s China subsidiary and a leading e-commerce company in China.
Additionally, eBay EachNet and Baidu will develop a co-branded toolbar
designed to leverage each other’s expertise in online protection.
“eBay EachNet has worked closely with Baidu since 2000, and we are very
pleased to continue and further develop this long-standing relationship,”
said Jeff Liao, CEO of eBay EachNet. “As the leading search advertising
platform in China, Baidu offers a dynamic online audience and drives
significant traffic through its search service and other community channels
to our site. We are excited to work together on new ways to better serve
users, merchants and online advertisers in China.”
“We’re very pleased to form this strategic partnership with eBay
EachNet,” said David Zhu, COO of Baidu. “Today, online shopping is one of
the fastest growing segments in China and as the most vibrant online trading
community in China, eBay EachNet has been playing a driving role in that
development. By leveraging Baidu’s leading technology to link users and
merchants to relevant advertising across eBay EachNet’s platform, this
partnership will increase eBay EachNet’s ability to deliver value to their
users, merchants and advertisers in China.”
The two companies plan to begin testing the text-based search advertising
on eBay EachNet in the first quarter of 2007 and expect to have the full
implementation in place during the second quarter of 2007.
Additional details of the agreement include:
Online Payments
Baidu will add PayPal Beibao to its paid search channel as the preferred
online payment service provider. Baidu will also promote PayPal Beibao’s
payment service as the preferred third-party payment solution on the Baidu
Points platform. Baidu will also encourage its small and medium-sized
merchants to use PayPal Beibao as their online payments processor.
Search and Advertising
Baidu will become the exclusive provider of text-based advertising on
eBay EachNet. This agreement provides Baidu advertisers with access to one
of the most robust online communities in China while enhancing the shopping
experience for eBay EachNet buyers by making it easier to find the products
they seek. eBay EachNet and Baidu have also agreed to work together more
closely to better optimize eBay EachNet pages for Baidu’s natural search
engine.
Co-Branded Toolbar
Baidu and eBay EachNet plan to integrate their respective toolbar
features. The co-branded toolbar will allow users to click on an eBay
EachNet icon directly from the Baidu toolbar menu and be immediately directed
to the eBay EachNet homepage. The Baidu toolbar has been downloaded by more
than 20 million Baidu users to date, and lets consumers quickly link to
preferred Baidu locations while offering enhanced online protection. The new
co-branded toolbar will make it even easier for consumers to take advantage
of both companies’ offerings by providing quick access to information
wherever they are on the Web.
At this time, eBay and Baidu do not expect this agreement to have a
material impact on their respective financial results during the period of
the service agreement.
About eBay EachNet
eBay EachNet is the leading e-commerce company in China, allowing its
community of users to buy and sell a wide range of items, from clothing and
antique calligraphy to computers and real estate, in both auction and
fixed-price formats. EachNet was founded in Shanghai in 1999, and became an
eBay company in 2002.
About Baidu
Baidu.com, 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 ADRs, each of which represents one Class A
ordinary share, are currently trading on the NASDAQ Global Market under the
symbol “BIDU.”
