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China Life Insurance Group Co and Baidu will form a seven billion yuan (one billion US dollars) private equity fund, targeting the Internet and other technology investments, China Life's listed arm said on Thursday.
The Baidu Fund Partnership will be capitalized by China Life through a special partnership, which will contribute up to 5.6 billion yuan, China Life Insurance said in a Hong Kong Stock Exchange statement. Baidu, the Chinese language Internet search provider, will contribute as much as 1.4 billion yuan.
The Baidu Fund Partnership will focus on middle to later stage investment, including unlisted companies with "significant association" with China, in the Internet sector, including mobile Internet, artificial intelligence (AI), and Internet finance, the statement said.
The partners are responsible for paying 30 percent of their capital contributions initially, it said.
Baidu CEO of Li Yanhong.
Earlier this year, Baidu and China Life Insurance have already made decision to cooperate in multiple fields such as big data and AI in the future, according to Chinese local media reports.
In fact, private Internet giants in China have been no longer unsatisfied with their online dominance and are seeking to diversify their core businesses.
It is not the first attempt for China's biggest Internet search service provider to invest in multiple industries, which is expected to strengthen the company's comprehensive competitiveness.
Several days ago, China's state-owned telecommunication operator, China Unicom, announced plans to bring in private investment, raising as much as 61.73 billion yuan (more than nine billion US dollars) by selling shares.
It is reported that Baidu is among the investors, including a handful of China's Internet giants such as Alibaba Group, JD.com and Tencent.
(REUTERS)
