Baidu.com says CFO killed in China accident

BEIJING, Dec. 30, 2007 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) -- China's main internet search engine Baidu.com (NASDAQ:BIDU) said its chief financial officer Shawn Wang, who helped it list on the Nasdaq stock market, has died while on holiday in China.Wang, a key figure in Baidu's successful 2005 listing on the Nasdaq, died on Dec 27, the company said in an announcement seen on its website Sunday.No other details of his death were given, and calls to the company Sunday went unanswered.'Shawn's leadership and vision helped transform Baidu into a leading US public company, and his presence will be greatly missed,' Baidu chairman and chief executive officer Robin Li said in the company statement.Baidu is often referred to as China's version of Google because of the Chinese-language search engine's soaring popularity and profits. It made a net profit of 24.2 mln usd in the third quarter of 2007.tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomson.comCopyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.