China's Biggest Internet Companies Set To Collide As Wal-Mart Enter $65 Bn Chinese Ecommerce Market

China’s largest Internet companies, Alibaba, which controls 75% of the country’s ecommerce through business-to-consumer site Taobao, and Baidu, which accounts for 80% of online search traffic in the country, are set to become fierce competitors with their plans to launch ventures competing directly with each other’s core businesses. Baidu, in partnership with Rakuten, Japan’s leading ecommerce company, launched the Lekutian online shopping site. Meanwhile, Alibaba revived its ecommerce platform Taobao Mall and launched its Etao search engine. The companies also face a new competitor in the world’s biggest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores, which plans to start an ecommerce site for the Chinese market, forecast to reach $65.9 billion in value in 2010. Online sales will account for 7.2% of the retail market by 2013, according to Deutsche Bank.