Jan 14 (Reuters) - U.S.-listed China shares rose before the opening bell on Friday, enjoying a robust rally at the start of the year as fewer jarring regulatory headlines from Beijing spurred investors to pick up battered names including Alibaba, JD.com and Baidu.

E-commerce giant Alibaba rose 0.5%, adding to a 17% jump over the past 11 trading days. Analysts this week said retail investors have been strong buyers of the tech giant's shares.

China-based e-commerce company JD.com Inc advanced 2.6%, looking to wrap up its best weekly performance in nine weeks.

Online search engine Baidu Inc, which touched a near two-month high earlier this week, edged up 0.6%, while online retail marketplace Pinduoduo added 0.9% after hitting a one-month high on Wednesday.

"In a nutshell, we think the worst of the tech regulatory storm is behind us, even though the regulatory upgrade is not yet over and will have a lasting impact on the tech sector's long-term growth prospects," analysts at Societe Generale said in a research note on Thursday.

"(The year) 2021 saw a shock-and-awe crackdown on EdTech, gaming and internet platforms, but 2022 should be a year of institutionalizing and implementing the new laws and regulations. This phase should bring fewer bad surprises and thus less uncertainty."

China ADRs were pummeled in 2021 as Beijing tightened regulatory scrutiny on sectors ranging from gaming to education in a sweeping clampdown on its massive and once-freewheeling online "platform economy".

The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China index slumped 43% last year in its steepest decline since the 2008 financial crisis.

Ride hailing giant Didi Global Inc firmed 1.3% on Thursday. Earlier this week, a report said the company's Hong Kong IPO could happen in the second quarter.

Social media platform Weibo was looking at its first monthly gain since July and Tencent Music was set to climb for the sixth time in seven sessions. (Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar; Editing by Bernard Orr)