TheDeal.com - Google plants seeds in China

"Google Inc.'s new name in China, Gu Ge, or 'harvest song,' draws on Chinese rural traditions to signify a fruitful experience. But the ideograms also suggest the bounty the world's biggest Internet company sees in what is soon to be the world's largest online market.
Google officials were in Beijing last week to unveil the name and to announce it will open a research lab in China. Analysts said the Mountain View, Calif.-based company's plan for the country also could include major acquisitions.
'Everybody is trying to figure out what Google is going to do with a $10 billion war chest and $2 billion in cash flow every year,' said Matt Comyns, a partner at BlackInc China, a New York-based Internet advisory firm, who attended the announcement. 'To date, they've made a lot of small technology buys that have strategically made sense for them, but it is logical to think if they are going to make a big buy it's going to be in a place like China.'"

In a research report released Monday, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. analyst Jason Brueschke said Google is more likely to acquire small technology and research and development shops in China, but he noted it also could have its eye on several major, publicly listed Chinese Internet players.