Despite China Rebuff, Facebook Going Back for More Facebook明知山有虎，偏向虎山行
Facebook just can’t take no for an answer. A top company executive has said that Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg is planning a second trip to China to check out the market (English article; Chinese article), even after Beijing laid down three conditions that essentially told the social networking giant “you’re not wanted here.” (previous post) The executive said there’s no set date for Zuckerberg’s second trip, following a first one in December whiere he met with officials from Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) and Alibaba, among others. If he’s really that determined to get to China and avoid Beijing’s three impossible conditions, the only route I see is through an M&A of an existing service. Such a strategy could be interesting, as there are quite a few candidates out there, most notably Sina’s Weibo microblogging service and Kaixin’s more traditional Facebook-like SNS service, that could be strong candidates for such a tie-up. Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter, is currently trying to find its way as an independent company after being cut loose from Sina (previous post), and could certainly use Facebook’s expertise. Likewise, Kaixin, which is moving towards its own IPO, is playing catch-up to recently listed Renren (NYSE: RENN), and was even approached by Facebook about an investment a year ago but declined. If Zuckerberg is really serious about China, look for some kind of major tie-up with an existing player perhaps before the end of the year.
Bottom line: Facebook’s determination to be in China could result in a major investment in an existing player, possibly Kaixin or Weibo, by the end of this year.
Facebook 不愿被拒绝。虽然中国政府列出了三个条件，让Facebook知道自己不受欢迎，但一位公司高管说，Facebook首席执行官扎克伯格仍打算再度访华，考察中国市场。这名公司高管说，扎克伯格下一次访华之旅行程还未确定。去年12月扎克伯格曾来到中国，与百度<BIDU.O>、新浪<SINA.O>和阿里巴巴等公司的高层会面。如果他真的一心一意想进军中国，同时绕开北京开出的三个苛刻条件，我认为唯一的途径便是并购一家现成的市场参与者。这种策略蛮有趣，因为确有很多候选者可供选择，尤其是新浪微博和开心网。新浪微博在逐渐摆脱对母公司的依赖後，正寻求成为一家独立公司，而且肯定可以从Facebook那里学到不少东西。开心网虽已在上市步伐方面落後于竞争对手人人网<RENN.N>，但一年前曾获得Facebook的青睐，只是当时拒绝了後者的投资意向。如果扎克伯格真的对中国恋恋不舍，那麽也许年底前我们就会看到Facebook与一家现成的中国市场主要参与者结成某种合作关系。
一句话：Facebook决意进入中国市场，可能会导致年底前它对开心网或新浪微博的大笔投资。
Related postings 相关文章:
◙ Beijing Deals Death Blow to Facebook China Plan – Source 中国宣判Facebook入华计划“死刑”–消息人士
◙ Facebook’s China Tie Up: No Big Deal Facebook能否入华？
◙ Snaptu: Facebook’s China Back Door? Facebook在中国走“後门”？
