Internet giant Baidu, often referred to as "China's Google", has partnered with Citic Bank to launch an online bank, as it looks to rivals Tencent and Alibaba in the financial services space.
The joint venture will see Baixin Bank established pending approval by the Chinese banking authority with the mission of managing "wealth for the people and finance for the public, to develop an inclusive approach to finance, and to service the real economy", the companies said in a press release.
Internet companies have been trying to shake up the financial services market in the world's second-largest economy. Earlier this year Tencent launched an online only bank called WeBank, named after its popular instant messaging app WeChat. And Alibaba's financial affiliate Ant Financial followed with its own version called MyBank.