Thailand Overseas Investment Center

Baidu Inc (ADR) Boosts Investment In Indonesia

Baidu Inc (ADR)(NASDAQ:BIDU) entered the Japanese market in 2007, making its first attempt at global expansion outside China. Investors were extremely optimistic about the move, but the Japanese already had two search engines, and Baidu tried to become the third.

Lately, Baidu has given up on trying to take a bite out of the Japanese market, while significantly increasing its capital investment in other parts of the world. Last year, the Shanghai-based company entered the South American region, specifically Brazil. Presently, Baidu is testing its beta version in Egypt and Thailand.

 Baidu is now taking a big gamble in Indonesia, where the company doesn't even operate its search engine in the local language. Indonesia can be expected replicate India or China in terms of technology, where the technology sector is booming and majority of the population earns $1 per day. Indonesia is currently the fifth most populous country with over 250 million people, and is also the sixteenth largest economy in the world.

 Moreover, McKinsey has projected that Indonesia will eventually surpass Germany and the United Kingdom, becoming the seventh largest economy in the world. Baidu’s step to enter the Indonesian market seems logical, and its approach is extremely interesting. Initially, Baidu started with a mobile-first strategy.

The web services company opened its first office in Jakarta, Indonesia in September 2013, and by the end of the year it had three million users in the country using its security software and optimization tools. Presently, the most successful product launched by the company is DU Battery Saver – a battery optimization app, which has been downloaded 14 million times by users in Indonesia.

CR:http://www.bidnessetc.com/42945-baidu-inc-adr-boosts-investment-in-indonesia/