China's Dot-com Darlings Tap Cheap Global Credit

Chinese search engine company Baidu paid a lower interest rate than Google when it sold $750 million in 10-year bonds last month. China's three dominant dot-com names - Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent Holdings - have successfully tapped global funding this year, stockpiling a combined $6 billion in debt despite investor skepticism about opaque Chinese companies. The big three plan to use the money to pad their industry advantage at home, to compete better abroad, and perhaps to buy cash-starved rivals.