B2B plans

Baidu has appointed former Ninetowns' (Nasdaq: NINE)
business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce subsidiary
Tootoo.com COO Hu Xinran as enterprise marketing
department manager, reports Sohu citing Baidu and
Tootoo sources. Hu left his role as chief operating
officer in July, said a Tootoo.com executive.

Baidu plans to release a B2B platform similar to that
of Alibaba.com Ltd (1688.HK) and, according to an
unnamed source, has contacted certification
companies about creating a seller identity verification
system, reports Beijing Business Today. The search
giant has also commissioned third-party companies
to conduct face-to-face surveys with clients of
Alibaba.com's paid Gold Supplier B2B service, said
a Pearl River Delta distributor for Baidu's bid
ranking service. Baidu launched the open beta version
of its consumer-to-consumer e-commerce platform
Youa.com on October 28.