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☆ Alibaba bets on overseas e-commerce unit amid sluggish growth in China
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Sheila Chiang | In Sheilachiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Costfoto | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesChinese tech giant Alibaba Group is betting on its overseas businesses while domestic consumption growth remains sluggish. James Dong, CEO of Southeast Asian e-commerce giant Lazada Group, was named as Daraz's acting CEO. Dong took over as Lazada Group CEO from Chun Li in June 2022, after running the company's Thailand and Vietnam operations. Intense competitionThe e-commerce business that once propelled Alibaba to success has run into challenges with upstart competitors such as PDD, while consumption growth in China remains sluggish. Alibaba posted 9% year-on-year revenue growth in the third quarter to about $31 billion.

Persons: Eddie Wu, Yinglan Tan, AliExpress, Bjarke Mikkelsen, Jan, James Dong, Lazada, Tan, Alibaba, Zhang, Dong, Chun Li, Li, Pierre, Lucy Peng, PDD Organizations: Nurphoto, Getty, Digital Commerce, Tmall, Tmall Group, Alibaba, Ventures, Lazada, CNBC, Ventures Partners, Alibaba Group, PDD Holdings, Hong Kong, HK Locations: Huangpu District, Shanghai, Taobao, monetization, Alibaba, Pakistan, Asia, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong

With a population of more than 270 million, Indonesia generated nearly $52 billion in e-commerce transactions last year, according to data from consultancy Momentum Works. TikTok is holding talks for potential partnerships with local e-commerce players, including GoTo's Tokopedia, while building a standalone TikTok Shop app for Indonesia, the people said. Until TikTok Shop stopped operations in Indonesia this month, it was delivering about 3 million parcels a day in Indonesia, two sources said. Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) YouTube is also planning to apply for an e-commerce license, two sources said, without specifying the type of permit planned. TikTok and YouTube's plans to apply for e-commerce permits in Indonesia have not been previously reported.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, GoTo's Tokopedia, TikTok, Tokopedia, Isy Karim, Isy, Stanley Widianto, Fanny Potkin, William Mallard Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, YouTube, Meta, Momentum Works, TikTok, Reuters, Facebook, Thomson Locations: Rights JAKARTA, Indonesia, Southeast, Southeast Asia, U.S, Indonesian

☆ Alibaba's Lazada is courting sellers affected by Indonesia's e-commerce ban on social media
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Lazada is the third-largest e-commerce player in Indonesia, after Sea Limited's Shopee and Tokopedia, according to Momentum Works. Lazada, a Southeast Asian e-commerce marketplace owned by Alibaba , is courting sellers affected by Indonesia's latest e-commerce regulation, its Indonesia CEO James Chang told employees in a town hall meeting on Friday. In recent weeks, Indonesia has cracked down on social media platforms facilitating e-commerce, such as TikTok, in a bid to protect domestic businesses. Indonesia banned social media purchases and set a one-week deadline last week for TikTok to become a standalone app, without any e-commerce feature, or face closure. In response, TikTok Indonesia said Tuesday that it will comply with local laws and stop facilitating e-commerce purchases.

Persons: Lazada, James Chang, Chang, Joko Widodo Organizations: Works, CNBC, TikTok Locations: Indonesia, TikTok Indonesia

☆ TikTok's Southeast Asia ambitions to take a major hit with Indonesia ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Aditya Aji | Afp | Getty ImagesTikTok's Southeast Asian ambitions will take a major hit after Indonesia bans shopping transactions on social media apps, analysts told CNBC. Indonesia has banned e-commerce transactions on social media platforms such as TikTok Shop and Facebook . Even if it can secure a separate license to operate, operating as a standalone app may still be challenging. "Even if it can secure a separate license to operate, operating as a standalone app may still be challenging," said Mittal. New social media rulesOn Saturday, Indonesia's President Joko Widodo called for social media regulations, saying such platforms impact micro-, small- and medium-sized companies and the economy.

Persons: Aditya Aji, Jonathan Woo, Sachin, Sachin Mittal, TikTok, Mittal, Joko Widodo Organizations: Facebook, Afp, Getty, CNBC, Phillip Securities Research, Sachin Mittal DBS Bank, U.S, DBS Bank, BMI, Momentum Works Locations: Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Jakarta, China, Southeast Asia, U.S, Singapore, Montana, India

☆ Indonesia spoils TikTok’s Southeast Asia party
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Anshuman Daga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Sandy Saputra, 19, who is one of TikTok's biggest Indonesian stars, uses his smartphone to record a video using the app in Jakarta, Indonesia, July 24, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan - RC2PMI9KGQ5Q Acquire Licensing RightsSINGAPORE, Sept 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - June must now feel like an alternate reality to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. On Wednesday, though, President Joko Widodo’s administration banned e-commerce transactions on social media platforms. Indonesia is key to TikTok’s hopes of growing its e-commerce sales in Southeast Asia. CONTEXT NEWSIndonesian authorities on Wednesday announced new regulations that bar social media companies from conducting direct e-commerce sales on their platforms.

Persons: Sandy Saputra, Willy Kurniawan, Shou Zi Chew, Joko, Zulkifli Hasan, TikTok, “, GoTo, Antony Currie, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Trade, HK, Wednesday, Thomson Locations: Indonesian, Jakarta, Indonesia, Rights SINGAPORE, Southeast Asia, Singapore

☆ Indonesia bans e-commerce transactions on social media in major blow to TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Jakarta Reuters —Indonesia has banned e-commerce transactions on social media platforms, the trade minister said on Wednesday, in a blow to short video app TikTok, which is doubling down on Southeast Asia’s biggest economy to boost its e-commerce business. TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, has 125 million active monthly users in Indonesia and has been looking to translate the large user base into a major e-commerce revenue source. He warned of letting social media become an e-commerce platform, shop and bank all at the same time. Indonesia Deputy Trade Minister Jerry Sambuaga earlier this month named TikTok’s live streaming features as an example of people selling goods on social media. E-commerce transactions in Indonesia amounted to nearly $52 billion last year and of that, 5% took place on TikTok, according to data from consultancy Momentum Works.

Persons: TikTok, China’s ByteDance, “, Zulkifli Hasan, Zulkifli, Jerry Sambuaga, Sea’s Shopee, Fahmi, ” Organizations: Jakarta Reuters —, Indonesia Trade, Wednesday, Reuters, Indonesia Deputy Trade, Research, BMI, Momentum Works Locations: Jakarta, Jakarta Reuters — Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Shop, TikTok, Europe, United States

[1/4] Bening Widayati, 40, sells clothes live on a social media platform inside her stall at the International Trade Center (ITC) mall in Jakarta, Indonesia, September 27, 2023. The government said the move, which takes effect immediately, is aimed at protecting offline merchants and marketplaces, adding that predatory pricing on social media platforms is threatening small and medium-sized enterprises. The move comes just three months after TikTok pledged to invest billion of dollars in Southeast Asia, mainly in Indonesia, over the next few years in a major push to build its e-commerce platform TikTok Shop. He warned of letting social media become an e-commerce platform, shop, and bank all at the same time. Indonesia Deputy Trade Minister Jerry Sambuaga earlier this month named TikTok's live streaming features as an example of people selling goods on social media.

Persons: Widayati, Willy Kurniawan, TikTok, China's ByteDance, Zulkifli Hasan, Zulkifli, Jerry Sambuaga, Fahmi, Edri, Dewi Kurniawati, Stefanno Sulaiman, Fransiska Nangoy, Stanley Widianto, Johan Purnomo, Kanupriya Kapoor, Alexandra Hudson, Miyoung Kim, Mark Porter Organizations: International Trade Center, REUTERS, Indonesia Trade, Wednesday, Reuters, Indonesia Deputy Trade, Research, BMI, HK, Lazada, Momentum Works, Thomson Locations: Jakarta, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, JAKARTA, Shop, TikTok, Europe, United States

☆ How Luckin Coffee overtook Starbucks as the largest coffee chain in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

SHENZHEN, CHINA - 2020/10/05: Chinese coffee shop chain Luckin Coffee logo seen at a store. Founded in 2017, Luckin Coffee burst onto the Chinese coffee scene to challenge Starbucks through affordable coffee options and mobile ordering. China is Starbucks' second-largest market after the U.S. Luckin Coffee grew to 10,829 stores in China at the end of June, surpassing Starbucks as the largest coffee chain brand in the country following what one analyst calls an "aggressive" expansion. Meanwhile, Starbucks' stores worldwide are company-owned and the American coffee chain does not franchise operations, according to its website. The Chinese coffee chain said that it sold 5.42 million Moutai alcohol-infused lattes on the first day of its launch.

Persons: Alex Tai, Li, Rahul Maheshwari, Luckin, Vivian Leung, Zhang Peng, Price, it's, Jianggan Li, Leung, Kweichow Moutai, Moutai, Shawn Yang, Yang, latte Organizations: Getty, Starbucks, U.S, Luckin, Momentum, Coffee, CNBC, Lightrocket, Brand Finance, Blue Lotus Research Institute Locations: SHENZHEN, CHINA, China, Singapore, Guangzhou, TIANJIN, Asia, Beijing

☆ TikTok Shop is now open for business
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —TikTok is officially kicking off its US e-commerce efforts with the launch of TikTok Shop. TikTok Shop allows users to find and directly purchase products used in live videos, tagged in content shown on their algorithm-driven For You page, pinned on brand profiles or marketed in a new “Shop” tab. TikTok Shop features unveiled by the company on Tuesday. TikTok Shop is already available throughout parts of Asia and the United Kingdom. TikTok Shop, as launched Tuesday, has been in testing since November.

Persons: New York CNN — TikTok, TikTok, Instagram, Alibaba’s Organizations: New, New York CNN, Bloomberg, Meta, Facebook, YouTube, Shopify, Amazon, Reuters, Momentum Works, Shopee’s, Works Locations: New York, United States, ”, Asia, United Kingdom, Southeast Asia, Sea’s, Indonesia, States, Europe, China

☆ Indonesia to ban goods transactions on social media - deputy minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JAKARTA, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Indonesia is planning to ban goods transactions on social media under new trade regulations, the deputy trade minister told a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday. Ministers have repeatedly said that e-commerce sellers using predatory pricing on social media platforms were threatening offline markets in Southeast Asia's biggest economy. Current trade regulations do not specifically cover direct transactions on social media. "Social media and social commerce cannot be combined," Jerry Sambuaga, deputy minister of trade, told the parliament, using the example of sellers using "live" features on the short video platform TikTok to sell goods. "Revisions to the trade regulations that are currently under way will firmly and explicitly ban this," Sambuaga said.

Persons: Jerry Sambuaga, Sambuaga, TikTok, Indonesia's, Dewi Kurniawati, Stefanno Sulaiman, Alex Richardson Organizations: Reuters, Facebook, Momentum, Google, Temasek Holdings, Bain & Company, Thomson Locations: JAKARTA, Indonesia, Asia's, TikTok

☆ Sea pivoted to growth over profits as it faced rising competition from TikTok, Lazada, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

But analysts said the pivot is a move to defend market share. Defending your market share is the right strategy in e-commerce. CEO Shou Zi Chew said in June that TikTok would invest billions of dollars in Southeast Asia over the next few years to gain market share. Sea's decision to accelerate ecommerce investments in growth is likely to materially weigh on its earnings and share price in the near-term. "Sea's decision to accelerate ecommerce investments in growth is likely to materially weigh on its earnings and share price in the near-term," said JPMorgan.

Persons: Forrest Li, GoTo, Sachin Mittal, Woo, Li, JPMorgan, Jonathan Woo, Shou Zi Chew, TikTok, Alibaba's Lazada, Sea's Shopee, Lazada's GMV Organizations: Sea Ltd, Bloomberg, Getty, Local, DBS Bank, Phillip Securities Research, JPMorgan, Momentum Works Locations: Singapore, Lazada, Southeast Asia

☆ Bubble tea will test limits of China’s consumers
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Thomas Shum | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, Aug 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Bubble tea may be the new bellwether for the Chinese consumer. At least half a dozen boba-drink makers, including China’s largest chain by store count, Mixue Bingcheng, are planning initial public offerings in Hong Kong or the United States, Bloomberg reports. Shares in Hong Kong-listed Nayuki (2150.HK), the country’s only publicly traded bubble tea chain, have dropped 70% since their debut in 2021. Follow @t__shum on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSAt least six bubble tea companies are looking to go public in either Hong Kong or the United States, Bloomberg reported on July 24 citing people familiar with the matter. In 2022, China’s biggest bubble tea chain by store count, Mixue Bingcheng, filed for a $918 million initial public offering in Shenzhen.

Persons: Mixue, Gen, Mixue Bingcheng, Robyn Mak, Katrina Hamlin, Pranav Kiran Organizations: Reuters, Bloomberg, HK, KFC, Haidilao, Refinitiv, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, United States, Beijing, China, Shenzhen

☆ Exclusive: TikTok in talks to gain Indonesian payments licence
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Stefanno Sulaiman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A spokesperson for TikTok confirmed on Friday that the talks were taking place, adding that an Indonesian payments licence would help local creators and sellers on its platform. A representative for the central bank, Bank Indonesia, did not respond to a request for comment. A payments licence would enable TikTok to benefit from transaction fees and put it more directly in competition with Southeast Asian e-commerce giants, Sea's (SE.N) Shopee and Alibaba's (9988.HK) Lazada. Douyin, the Chinese counterpart to TikTok that is also owned by ByteDance, obtained a Chinese payments licence in 2020. It was not immediately clear if TikTok has obtained a payments license elsewhere in the world.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, Stefanno Sulaiman, Josh Ye, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, TikTok, Bank Indonesia, HK, Lazada, ByteDance, Momentum, Thomson Locations: JAKARTA, Indonesia, U.S, Southeast Asia, Europe, TikTok, China, United States, Montana, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong

☆ Startup e-commerce platform Temu expands to Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, July 6 (Reuters) - Ultra low-cost e-commerce platform Temu, owned by PDD Holdings (PDD.O), has started selling to Japan, marking its first foray into the Asian market. The marketplace, the sister site of Chinese discount e-commerce platform Pinduoduo, ships everything from clothing to electronics and home goods, mainly from Chinese merchants to customers overseas at rock bottom prices. A drop-down menu on Temu's website confirms Japan is one of the countries it now ships to. Temu and PDD Holdings did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its recent expansion or future plans. Vion Zhi Voon Yau, head of research at consultancy Momentum Works, described Japan as an "attractive, affluent" market for Temu.

Persons: Vion Zhi Voon Yau, Casey Hall, Fanny Potkin, Emelia Sithole Organizations: PDD Holdings, Japan, Momentum Works, Temu, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, Japan, United States, Boston

☆ Meituan’s KeeTa joins Hong Kong's food delivery race — but analysts are skeptical
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

HONG KONG, CHINA - MAY 22: A poster promoting 'KeeTa' is seen on May 22, 2023 in Hong Kong, China. "I'm not very optimistic about Meituan's expansion in Hong Kong," Shawn Yang, managing director of Blue Lotus Research Institute, told CNBC. The food delivery service — named KeeTa — launched on May 22 in two residential areas: Mong Kok and Tai Kok Tsui. Stiff competitionThe penetration rate of food delivery in Hong Kong is not particularly high. The food delivery market in Hong Kong remains lukewarm, even during the pandemic, with moderate growth rates.

Persons: Chen Yongnnuo, Shawn Yang, KeeTa —, Mong Kok, Tai Kok Tsui, KeeTa, Sham, Meituan, Kai Wang, ChinaIRN, doesn't, it's, Wang, Yang, Blue, Ryan Lai, Lai Organizations: China News Service, Getty, Blue Lotus Research Institute, CNBC, Yau, Morningstar, Morningstar Asia, Blue Lotus Research, Blue Lotus, Foodpanda, Hong, HK Locations: HONG KONG, CHINA, Hong Kong, China, Mong, Morningstar Asia, Mong Kok, Hong, Deliveroo, Foodpanda Hong Kong

☆ TikTok to invest billions of dollars in Southeast Asia amid growing scrutiny over data security
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Short video app TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, said on Thursday it would invest billions of dollars in Southeast Asia over the next few years, as it doubles down on the region amid intensifying global scrutiny over its data security. TikTok did not provide a detailed breakdown of the spending plan but said it would invest in training, advertising and supporting small vendors looking to join its e-commerce platform TikTok Shop. TikTok has 8,000 employees in Southeast Asia and 2 million small vendors selling their wares on its platform in Indonesia, the region’s biggest economy, he added. E-commerce transactions across the region reached nearly $100 billion last year, with Indonesia accounting for $52 billion, according to data from consultancy Momentum Works. The app has not faced major bans on government devices in Southeast Asia, but it has been under scrutiny over its content.

Persons: China’s ByteDance, Alibaba’s, “ We’re, ”, Shou Zi Chew, Chew, TikTok, Matt McClain Organizations: Momentum Works, Shopee’s, Washington Post Locations: Southeast Asia, Sea’s, Indonesia, Jakarta, TikTok, Washington ,, Beijing, Britain, New Zealand, Vietnam

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