China's Internet search giant Baidu has launched an online wealth management product with Huaxia Fund Management Company. This is another move by an Internet corporation to gain a share of the financial sector.

Su Yi has some insights.

Internet searches for products drives consumption. An increasingly large number of consumers are now finding financial products they like through online platforms.

Zhang Liyuan is from the public relations department of Baidu, which has just taken a step towards entering the Internet finance sector. She elaborates on the advantages of the company's new tool.

"Our decision is based on knowledge about our target group, together with the technology of big data and innovation in the Internet industry. So we launched this product to meet the demands of customers looking for something simple and reliable."

Another industry forerunner is Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, which allows consumers to invest their spare cash into money market funds through its Alipay online payment service. This product is called Yu'ebao, or "Leftover Treasure."

Zhang Daosheng, Public Relations Manager of Alipay, says the combination of finance and the Internet has led to booming capital.
"Up to the end of September, Yu'ebao had 55 billion yuan in capital and 13 million customers. Because of this, our fund management firm, Tianhong Fund has become the country's largest fund management company."

The steps that Baidu and Alibaba have taken indicate towards future trends for both consumption, and competition.

Alibaba and Baidu have taken different strategies to be more competitive. Jiang Saichun, Chief Analyst of Desheng, a fund research center in Beijing, says that Alibaba relies on its huge e-commerce resources.

In contrast, Baidu does not have an e-commerce system, serving more as a platform for connecting resources in the financial industry.

And more competition is providing a push to the market.

Yang Yifu, Vice President of Finance at Renrendai, an online financing company, believes that the action of Internet giants in finance is not a bad thing, as they will help people better understand this form of finance.

"The financial industry has many market opportunities. It is not like the IT industry, where one or two giant corporations grow and small companies fail. The future of finance must have the spirit of the Internet, which is easy, simple and efficient. The Internet also plays an important role in finance."

Internet finance has just started to develop in scale and bears huge potential. However, it should be noted that competition in the market could get tougher.