JD set to overtake Baidu in BAT ranking

E-commerce giant JD.com is getting set to pass search stalwart Baidu to become the nation’s third-largest internet company, Caixin reports. China’s leading internet companies, Tencent and Alibaba are each worth about $350 billion, putting them among the world’s 15 most valuable publicly listed firms. But before that pair’s spectacular rise, Baidu was China’s largest internet company. Internet watchers have come to refer to the trio as BAT based on their first initials, as the three posted explosive growth on the back of China’s internet embrace. But a recent jump in shares of the younger JD.com has put China’s second largest e-commerce player on track to overtake Baidu this week as the nation’s third largest internet company. JD.com shares rose 3.9% on Friday, giving it a market value of $61.3 billion. By comparison, Baidu’s US-traded stock fell 0.7%, giving it a value of $61.9 billion, just a shade ahead of JD.com.