Google reportedly to announce China plans Monday
By MarketWatch
March 18, 2010, 10:16 p.m. EDT
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Google Inc. will make an announcement Monday on its presence in China, with an April departure now seen as likely, according to a Chinese media report Friday.
China Business News cited an unidentified business agent for Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) China unit as saying the company had yet to confirm that it will close some or all of its operations in the country early next month.
"We've gotten news saying Google will leave China on April 10, but this piece of news has not yet been confirmed by the Google side," the report quoted the agent as saying.
An employee within Google China said separately that the company would announce its intentions on Monday, including any compensation plans for employees if it leaves the country, according to the report posted on the China Business News Web site.
The report also said Google agents and employees alike are uncertain whether Google would close just its flagship Chinese search engine at www.google.cn or would shutter all its business operations in the country, including research services and other Web sites.
Google's advertising resellers and others who work for or with the company have recently called for clarity on the Internet firm's plans. See full story on Google's ad resellers' concerns.
Google said earlier this year it might either stop censoring its Web searches in China or would leave the country, following what it said were cyber-attacks aimed at accessing Google email accounts connected with Chinese dissidents.
The company has since reportedly been in talks with Chinese officials, though those negotiations are said to have deadlocked.
A Google departure is expected to benefit Chinese search-engine leader Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) , shares of which have surged 47% since the Google announcement. See full story on Baidu's gains over Google. |
