Social Networking Sites Find a Chinese Face

It's hard to find a business executive among China's growing legions of social networking entrepreneurs who doesn't dream about building market value to Facebook heights.

Some have taken a big step toward turning that dream into reality by launching an initial public offering.

Social networking site Renren Inc. planned to raise more than US$ 500 million through an IPO in early May on the New York Stock Exchange, which invited the Chinese company's executives to ring an opening day bell.

Another Chinese social site operator, Kaixin001, has likewise applied to list on the New York bourse. An venture investment source close to Kaixin001 said company executives have been preparing for a listing since October 2010.