(file photo)

Social network looking to boost profits in Asia with direct presence in China

Facebook Inc has leased space in downtown Beijing as the social network prepares to open a China office even though its service remains unaccessible in the country, said people familiar with the matter.

The company signed a three-year contract in May to lease more than 800 square meters of office space in the Fortune Financial Center in Beijing's central business district, said the people, who asked not be identified because the transaction is not public. Facebook has not started outfitting the space, which has views of the Forbidden City, they said.

The company has built up a business in the country via a Hong Kong office selling ads to companies that want to reach international users. It also has "thousands" of application developers in China, Vice-President Vaughan Smith told the Global Mobile Internet Conference in Beijing in May.

HKI China Land Ltd, the developer that completed the Fortune Financial Center tower in September, has been leasing space this year for more than 500 yuan ($80) per sq m a month.

Fortune Financial Center's leasing office did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment about tenants in the building.