In its latest effort to expand its business in the Asia Pacific market, Facebook announced Thursday that it will open a new office in Taiwan.
The "small team" will be based in Taipei, the capital of a country where Facebook is one of the most popular social networks, according to The Wall Street Journal. The company said it has close to 15 million monthly active users in Taiwan out of a population of 23 million, and that most of them use mobile phones to go on to its website.
Employees at the Taiwan office will be tasked with providing technical support to local companies and application creators.
Convincing the Chinese government to lift its ban on Facebook is still a priority for CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who previously gave a speech in Chinese during a visit to the country and reportedly read President Xi Jinping's writings, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company may be having trouble establishing itself in the Chinese market, but setting up an office in Taiwan, where many people speak Chinese, is a good start.
Jayne Leung, head of Greater China at Facebook, said the new office will be of great benefit in providing more support to clients and agencies in Taiwan, Tech in Asia reported.
"We recognize the potential and opportunities that Taiwan presents and are looking forward to working closely with Taiwan businesses, partners and the government to help local businesses grow," Leung added.
Asian countries where Facebook has already set up operations include Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan. Facebook has also been said to have leased an office in Beijing, but the company has yet to publicly confirm such reports.
