Why Baidu Fell Nearly 20% in July
Shares of Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) logged a loss of 19.6% last month, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, following a regulatory crackdown on many of China's technology companies.
The saga technically started in November of last year, when China's State Administration for Market Regulations first began outlining new rules to curb internet monopolies. While the intent was seemingly aimed at names like Alibaba and Tencent, as the search engine fielding the vast majority of web searches made within China, Baidu isn't immune to any new regulatory headwind.
Matters have consistently become more difficult since then, with the introduction of sweeping changes in corporate disclosure requirements, data security measures, and greater scrutiny of public offerings. Not even video games have escaped China's recent regulatory interest. All of these either directly or indirectly affect Baidu and its well-diversified portfolio of tech company holdings, as well as projects outside of its core search business. Among these interests are artificial intelligence, apps, and autonomous vehicle technology.
Source Fool.com
