Chinese technology company Baidu announced this Thursday, the 5th, the repurchase of shares worth up to five billion dollars (around 4.2 billion euros), as well as the first distribution of dividends.
In a statement sent to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, where it is listed, the company indicated that the buyback program will be in force until the end of 2028 and that it plans to make the first dividend payment later this year.
Based in Beijing, the technology company stated that it intends to take advantage of “robust liquidity reserves” and “solid financial management capacity” to develop “proactive return initiatives for shareholders”.
“The new program will be implemented in a regular, disciplined and transparent manner, guided by a long-term strategy, beyond short-term fluctuations in share prices”, reads the company’s note.
Regarding dividends, Baidu said that it will be able to distribute them regularly or punctually, through extraordinary payments, being financed by “sustainable sources”, mainly through operating profits, but also with resources from the sale of non-strategic assets or other investment returns.
With this announcement, Baidu joins other Chinese technology giants with a strong presence in the emerging artificial intelligence (AI) sector, such as Tencent or Alibaba, in seeking to offer more attractive returns to shareholders, at a time when they compete with each other for the market of applications competing with the North American ChatGPT, especially on the eve of the Lunar New Year.
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