China to pull approval for Facebook's planned venture

[BEIJING] Facebook Inc's plan to open a venture in the eastern province of Zhejiang, China, has hit a roadblock as the Chinese government has withdrawn the approval, the New York Times reported citing a person familiar with the matter.

Facebook said on Tuesday it planned to create an "innovation hub" to support local start-ups.

The subsidiary was registered in Hangzhou, according to a filing approved on China's National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System last week and seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

For several hours, a Chinese government database showed that Facebook had gained approval to open a subsidiary, but the registration disappeared and references to the subsidiary were partially censored in Chinese media, according  to the New York Times.

Facebook could not be immediately reached for comment.

REUTERS