Baidu shares soar on debut

Baidu, China's largest Internet search engine, had the best US stock debut seen in more than five years, with its American depositary shares soaring 354% to US$122.54 on the NASDAQ on Friday, from its offer price of US$27. The Chinese company, which has an estimated net income of US$1.5m for the three months ended in June, now has a market capitalization of about US$4bn.