TOKYO -- Chinese Internet behemoths Baidu and Alibaba Group Holding are expanding their services in Japan, aiming to capitalize on an anticipated surge of Chinese tourism during the Lunar New Year holiday in February.
The smartphone app for Baidu's Baidu Maps service has roughly 300 million users and commands 70% of the Chinese market. While it currently encompasses only mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, Baidu will add Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Singapore at the end of this month. The Japan map will be searchable, covering 130,000 locations.
