Return of the King? TikTok may resume e-commerce business in Indonesia

According to the latest report from foreign media, Indonesian Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises Teten Masduki said in an interview with Reuters that TikTok is discussing the possibility of cooperation with local e-commerce companies in Indonesia, which may revitalize TikTok's e-commerce business in Indonesia.

The minister added that the social media platform has held talks with companies such as Blibli, Bukalapak and Tokopedia.

Tokopedia declined to comment when asked by Reuters , while Blibli did not respond. A Bukalapak representative said the company was not aware of such a thing.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has commissioned SME Minister Masduki to formulate regulations for e-commerce companies. The minister is scheduled to meet with TikTok CEO Chew Sau-chi later this month.

As previously reported, Indonesia’s Ministry of Trade banned social media platforms from offering direct e-commerce transactions on their apps earlier this year.

In this context, social media companies like Meta, YouTube and TikTok have had to decide to apply for e-commerce licenses in Indonesia.

In October this year , TikTok Shop announced that it would stop e-commerce transactions on its application. After this measure was implemented, many users began to cope by adding links to Shopee and Lazada stores in their accounts, but sales inevitably declined.

Some industry insiders said that TikTok has good reasons to continue seeking opportunities for e-commerce recovery in Indonesia, because as the largest e-commerce market in Southeast Asia, TikTok is unlikely to choose to give up business opportunities here.

TikTok

Indonesia

E-commerce