Baidu Capitalise on Google’s Waning Influence in China

The fall-out following Google’s announcement to end censorship in China is having a positive effect on Baidu’s share price, forcing a shift in the market share of the search engines in the country.

China’s leading search engine has seen their share price rise exponentially since 12th January 2010 (when Google announced their new approach to China) which saw them close business yesterday on $608.50 a share.

This is the first time that the search engine has breached the $600 threshold and marks a 51.91% increase since the aforementioned January date.

Chinese Companies End Google Deals

Baidu’s market share has also enjoyed a positive shift since Google’s announcement with the Chinese search engine holding 59% of the market compared to Google’s 30%, according to Hitwise.

As a result some companies are pulling or announcing that they won’t be renewing contracts with Google.

Although this won’t be seen as a major blow to Google in terms of their search business, it could affect the mobile market, for which China is a major user.