New | Baidu shares continue slide in New York amid concerns over Chinese probe into student death linked to online search

Chinese internet search giant Baidu saw its Nasdaq-listed shares continue to fall on Tuesday as analysts see its corporate reputation and revenue taking a hit this year following a university student’s death linked to a cancer treatment he searched online.

Beijing-based Baidu’s share price went down 2.54 per cent to finish at US$174.36 on Tuesday in New York. That was the stock’s lowest close since March 8, when it reached US$172.81.

Baidu, which has about an 80 per cent share of China’s online search market, is being investigated by a task force set up on Monday by regulators Cyberspace Administration of China, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

The probe followed the death of 21-year-old Wei Zexi, a computer science student from Shaanxi province, who suffered from a rare form of cancer and sought experimental medical treatment at a hospital in Beijing that topped a Baidu search result.

He chronicled the ineffective treatment he received online, and his death last month prompted a public outcry.

“In the short term, there will be two consequences: a drop in Baidu’s share price and, thanks to the negative media coverage, increased scepticism in the validity and trustworthiness of Baidu’s search results,” said Paul Haswell, a partner at international law firm Pinsent Masons.

“More users in China should become aware that Baidu and other search engines include paid content and advertisements in their search results. Such results should not be automatically trusted.”