Baidu Inc yesterday announced it would invest jointly to launch a B2C company with a Japanese e-commerce Website to tap China's robust online spending.

Baidu Inc and Rakuten Inc, the largest e-commerce Website in Japan, will inject US$50 million in the joint venture over the next three years and the portal is expected to start operations in the second half of this year, the company said in a statement yesterday.

Rakuten will own 51 percent while Baidu takes the balance.

"An increasing number of businesses and consumers are engaging in e-commerce and we hope to provide users with a diversified and satisfying shopping experience with the launch of the new platform," said Ren Xuyang, Baidu's vice president of marketing and business development.

For the Japanese firm, "Baidu's vast user base will be a perfect compliment to Rakuten's experience in the online B2C sector," said Kentaro Hyakuno, its senior executive officer.

China's online retail market in 2009 totaled 252.6 billion yuan (US$37 billion) and B2C accounted for 8.7 percent, according to Beijing-based Internet consultancy, Analysys International. B2C online spending surged 172 percent from 2008 to 22 billion yuan last year.

"The proportion of B2C trading is expected to rise to 12 percent this year as more traditional retailers will enter the online market," said Analysys International analyst Cao Fei.

Earlier this month, Nasdaq-listed Baidu unveiled plans for an independent firm with Providence Equity Partners to offer premium online videos to Chinese Internet users.