Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Google Inc. may buy technology assets to expand in Southeast Asia, following Internet operators including Tencent Holdings Ltd. and LivingSocial in acquiring companies to add services and users in the region.

"We'll continue to innovate ourselves, but where it makes sense, we will look out for opportunities," Julian Persaud, managing director for Google in Southeast Asia, said in a video conference from Bangkok today, without elaborating. He couldn't immediately confirm if the U.S. company previously made an acquisition in Southeast Asia.

Google, owner of the world's most-popular search engine, is stepping up expansion in countries including Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, where companies allocate a smaller proportion of their advertising spending online compared with the U.S. and Europe. Tencent, China's biggest Internet company by revenue, and LivingSocial, the second-biggest coupon site, have unveiled investments in Southeast Asian Web firms in the past two years.

Internet advertising accounts for 1 percent to 2 percent of the marketing spending of companies in Southeast Asia, excluding Singapore, Persaud said. That compares with 27 percent in the U.K., and about 20 percent in Australia and the U.S., he said.

"We have proven recently as a company, that we are prepared to make acquisitions, wherever it makes sense," Persaud said. "It wouldn't make sense to exclude a part of the world, and say we wouldn't look there."

Earlier this month, Google agreed to buy Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. for $12.5 billion in its largest acquisition.

Source:sfgate