IAC Ramping Up in China

IAC/InterActiveCorp(IACI Quote) announced Friday that it will invest $100 million to expand its presence in the Chinese Internet market.

The company will also plans to launch its Ask.com search engine in China within two years as part of its strategy for the world's most populated nation, CEO Barry Diller said, according to press reports.

Developing Internet offerings tailored to local tastes rather than simply exporting products that have worked in the U.S. will be the key to success Diller said, according to reports.

U.S. companies have often struggled to make inroads into the Chinese market. Yahoo! (YHOO Quote) and eBay(EBAY Quote) have had to turn to local partners to run their China operations. And Google(GOOG Quote) trails local search leader Baidu(BIDU Quote) by a hefty margin.

But moving aggressively into China will be crucial for IAC, which earlier this month announced a new strategy. The firm is splitting itself into five companies, with its 30 remaining Internet brands under the IAC banner.

As the world's second-largest market in terms of Internet users, China will now be of increasing importance to IAC.