Baidu Bling

Baidu is the number one internet search engine for China. Currently, 7.7% of China's population surf the web. Don't let that small percentage fool you. That 7.7% represents 100 million residents. Baidu has already become the world's sixth-most trafficked web site with only China as its targeted market. On the other side of the world, around 68.5% of the population or roughly 203 million people in the United States use the Internet according to the latest statistics. 50% of China's population is equal to 650 million people. We can forecast that Baidu will become the number one trafficked web site in the near future without even venturing into any foreign markets. China is the new gold mine for businesses in all sectors as the country progresses.

Investors went crazy yesterday with Baidu's IPO (stock symbol: BIDU). The stock price of Baidu jumped 354% in one day, from $27 opening to $122.54 closing. The crazy thing is that Baidu has "only recently became profitable...earned $1.8 million on revenue of $13.6 million during the first half of this year..." according to Business Week. Baidu's IPO demonstrated that China's bling potential is indeed strong.

However, can we trust the Chinese government? How can Baidu be the next Google under a government that continues to impose ridiculous policies and regulations to censor and block Internet content? Will China reach its next golden age in this century or is it just another Internet bubble? The Chinese government, for now, is the only obstacle holding back its explosive market.