Baidu to launch finance center

Baidu Inc, China's largest search-engine provider, said on Monday that it would launch its Baidu Finance Center on Oct 28, offering a product with China Asset Management Co with an annual rate of return as high as 8 percent.

The product will be available to registered users of Baifubao, its online payment platform. It has no minimum requirement for depositors and allows real-time redemption.

But industry insiders said the 8 percent annual yield is almost impossible. Baidu has not explained how the target will be achieved.

Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent have all rushed to obtain licenses for financial service platforms, offering Internet users mutual funds, loans and insurance.

Alipay, Alibaba's online payment arm, launched a money market fund with Tianhong Asset Management Co in June. It has so far attracted 16 million users. At the beginning of October, Alipay bought a controlling stake in Tianhong.

Alibaba has also teamed up with Tencent and Ping An Insurance Group to issue online insurance products.