HONG KONG: Chinese search giant Baidu Inc. has approved a plan to buy back as much as US$1 billion of its own shares over the next 12 months, a move that may help prop up its stock as global market volatility grows.
Its board has green-lit a program to use existing cash to buy shares in the open market at prevailing prices, the Beijing-based company said in a statement Wednesday. It will review that program periodically and may adjust its terms and size.
Baidu’s shares are up more than 7% this year, just underperforming the Nasdaq Composite’s gain but outstripping larger rival Tencent Holdings Ltd., which is down 7% in 2018.