Economic Observer reporter Shi Zhenfang
The reporter learned from TikTok that on December 11, TikTok reached an e-commerce strategic cooperation with Indonesia (hereinafter referred to as "Indonesia") Goto Group. TikTok's Indonesian e-commerce business will merge with Tokopedia, an e-commerce platform owned by the Goto Group, and the combined entity will be 75% owned and controlled by TikTok. TikTok e-commerce, which was previously banned locally, will re-launch on December 12, Indonesia's National Online Shopping Day.
TikTok has also pledged to invest $1.5 billion in the coming years to fund the business. TikTok said the two sides will work together to promote the development of Indonesia's digital economy and support small and medium-sized enterprises. On the day of the resumption of the launch, TikTok and Tokopedia will jointly launch the "Buy Local Products" (Beli Lokal) campaign.
According to public reports, Goto is Indonesia's largest Internet technology company, which owns Indonesia's local e-commerce platform Tokopedia and mobile service platform Gojek. Tokopedia is Indonesia's largest homegrown e-commerce company with a market share of 35%. Tokopedia has been in the spotlight since its inception in 2009, and in 2014 it became the first technology company in Southeast Asia to raise more than $100 million, with a total of more than $2.3 billion.
On September 27, the Ministry of Indonesia issued new regulations requiring TikTok to separate its e-commerce business from social **, which essentially banned TikTok's local e-commerce business. At that time, there was speculation that officials were worried that Chinese products on TikTok posed a threat to the local economy or the real reason for Indonesia's ban on TikTok e-commerce. Indonesia's No. 1 news **Didi.com once reported that as early as July this year, Indonesian think tank Indef criticized at a cabinet meeting for "the proliferation of Chinese products on TikTok", posing a threat to local companies;Indonesia's SME minister, Teten Masduki, has repeatedly accused Chinese companies of being too cheap to compete.
The return of TikTok e-commerce has been supported by the local **. Indonesia's ** Minister Zulkifli Hassan (Zulkifli Hasan) said in a recent interview that "our arrangement is to allow social e-commerce to support Indonesia's economic growth", and he also said that TikTok e-commerce can become a supporter of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
Since the end of November, a number of ** have changed their tunes to express their support for TikTok to cooperate with local businesses. For his part, Edy Misero, secretary general of the Indonesian Association of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, said that the addition of TikTok and Tokopedia will definitely have a positive impact on businesses, especially the MSME sector.