BusinessDay: Cracking world’s biggest internet population might seem an obvious ambition, but the chances Facebook will succeed there look pretty slim, WHEN it comes to China, Facebook should consider itself forewarned. Cracking the world’s biggest internet population might seem an obvious ambition for the social networking giant as it trumpets its global growth before a $5bn initial public offering (IPO), but the chances it will succeed look slim. Facebook said last week it was contemplating re-entering China, the world’s second-biggest economy, after being blocked nearly three years ago. But its offering would be likely to face intense competition, political meddling and very little commercial success. Few foreign internet companies have succeeded in China. eBay, Google, Amazon.com, Yahoo and most recently Groupon form the list of notable online players that have failed to gain traction in the fast-growing nation of 1,3-billion people."It’s actually a bit late for Facebook," says Hong Kong-based CLSA analyst Elinor Leung, explaining that the market is already quite saturated with local players such as Sina, Renren, Kaixinwang001 and Tencent Holdings.Facebook first launched its Chinese interface in 2008, but was blocked by Beijing in the middle of 2009 after deadly riots in the western province of Xinjiang, which authorities said were abetted by the social networking site. "It will be very difficult for Facebook to introduce something that will allow them to differentiate themselves," Ms Leung says. Read Full: BusinessDay - Facebook looking at China again ***
