Baidu closes in on Sina

Baidu.com, China's most widely used internet search engine, said its first-quarter net profit climbed to US$4.4 million from US$312,000 on the back of surging advertising revenue, which tripled to about US$16.5 million. It has closed the gap on Sina Corp, the nation's biggest internet portal, which posted a decline in profit, dropping 32% to US$7 million on costs for developing search software. Shares in Baidu climbed US$13.52 to US$74.90 in extended trading after the close of US markets on Tuesday as investors bet the company's focus on its search engine will help advertising revenue grow faster than that of portals. Online advertising spending in China may triple to US$1.96 billion in 2010 from US$575 million this year, according to research company IResearch.