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He also hiked his price target to $92 from $59, suggesting shares rallying 48.3% from where they closed on Tuesday. Analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich raised her price target to $370 from $315, suggesting 22% upside from Tuesday's close. — Hakyung Kim 6:04 a.m.: Citi raises price target on Amazon Amazon is becoming a more profitable organization, according to Citi. The price target increase comes on the heels of Amazon's new grocery delivery subscription launch. He cited increased operating income projections amid strong top-line trends for his price target increase.

Persons: Tesla, Rob Sanderson, Sanderson, Forrest Li, Hakyung Kim, Jessica Reif Ehrlich, — Hakyung Kim, Ronald Josey, Josey, GenAI, Kim, Goldman Sachs, Mark Delaney, Delaney, Goldman, Joseph Spak, Spak, TSLA, Wells Fargo's Colin Langan, Langan, James Lee, Lee, Fred Imbert Organizations: CNBC, Mizuho, Bank of America, Spotify Bank of America, Spotify, Citi, Amazon Web Services, Revenue, UBS, Summer

☆ Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Tesla, Amazon, Airbnb, Domino's, Walmart, Disney & more
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Bernstein reiterates Tesla as underperform Bernstein said it still sees minimal positive catalysts ahead for Tesla following earnings on Tuesday. Bank of America upgrades Tesla to buy from neutral Bank of America said it sees a slew of "positive catalysts" ahead for Tesla shares following earnings on Tuesday. Citi downgrades Molson Coors to sell from neutral Citi said it's concerned about slowing growth. Citi upgrades SiriusXM to neutral from sell Citi said the risk/reward is now more balanced. Citi reiterates Amazon as buy Citi raised its price target on the stock to $235 per share from $215.

Persons: Piper Sandler, Piper, Bernstein, Tesla, underperform Bernstein, KBW, Wells, Citi downgrades Molson, it's, Oppenheimer, Domino's, it's bullish, DPZ, SIRI, Morgan Stanley, Morgan Stanley it's, GenAI, Guggenheim, Enphase, Jefferies Organizations: Tesla, Mizuho, Bank of America, of America, Packaging Corporation of America, Citi downgrades, Citi downgrades Molson Coors, Citi, TAP, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche, Computer, Micro, Sea Limited, fintech JV, Amazon, Disney, Atlanta Braves, Braves, Microsoft Locations: Singapore, BNPL

☆ Singapore's Sea Limited posts first profitable year amid efforts to defend market share against Lazada, TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Sheila Chiang | In Sheilachiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Southeast Asian tech giant Sea Limited on Monday posted its first profitable year amid efforts to defend market share against Alibaba -owned Lazada and TikTok. Net income in 2023 was $162.7 million, as compared to a net loss of $1.7 billion in 2022. Sea's e-commerce arm Shopee made a "meaningful gain in market share" in 2023 despite "intensified competition in Southeast Asia," the firm said on Monday. Sea also said Shopee's market share in the region has "solidified" and the firm intends to "maintain our market share in 2024." Tokopedia merged with TikTok Shop in Indonesia to form an enlarged Tokopedia entity, in which TikTok will take a controlling stake of 75.01%.

Persons: Forrest Li, Li, Sea's, Shopee Organizations: Alibaba Locations: MariBank, Singapore, Sea's New York, Southeast Asia, Indonesia

On a trip to the sprawling factory in the port city of Haiphong in northern Vietnam, Widodo also sat behind the wheel of a VinFast electric car before wrapping up his three-day visit to Vietnam. The Vietnamese EV maker has said it will invest $1.2 billion in Indonesia and build a factory with the potential to make up to 50,000 vehicles every year. Green SM, an EV taxi operator that is mostly owned by VinFast’s founder, also announced an investment plan of $900 million in Indonesia. VinFast's plans to expand in Indonesia are part of their global goal of selling EVs in 50 markets worldwide. It is exporting EVs to the U.S. and also building a $4 billion EV factory in North Carolina, where production is slated to begin this year.

Persons: Joko Widodo, Widodo, GoTo, Tokopedia Tbk, Pham Nhat Vuong Organizations: Green SM, EV, VinFast’s, Group, AP Locations: HANOI, Vietnam, Indonesia, Haiphong, Vietnamese, Indonesian, North Carolina, India, Vingroup, Ukraine

☆ Asia’s tech giants lean toward desperate deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Anshuman Daga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew arrives for a dinner, on the eve of the Paris Peace Forum at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, November 9, 2023. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was feted in Indonesia where it has 125 million monthly active users when he pledged in June to invest billions of dollars in the region. But the global giant failed to anticipate regulatory hurdles in its biggest market for online shopping. TikTok’s viral video app would provide Tokopedia with a powerful new growth avenue for its online shopping and payments business. Yet as tech companies from the People’s Republic to Indonesia pull out all the stops to lift growth amid waning investor support, desperate new alliances are bound to emerge.

Persons: Shou Zi Chew, Gonzalo Fuentes, TikTok, China’s, GoTo, Patrick Walujo, Indonesia’s GoTo, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Paris Peace, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Companies, Google, Temasek, Bain &, Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics, Tokopedia, HK, Global Digital, Djarum, Bloomberg, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Rights SINGAPORE, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics Jakarta, Tokopedia, Lazada, Singapore, Indonesian, Thailand, People’s Republic, China

☆ TikTok obtaining Indonesia e-commerce permit - state media
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsJAKARTA, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Short video app TikTok is in the process of obtaining an e-commerce permit from Indonesia's government, state news agency Antara reported, citing the deputy trade minister. In September, Indonesia banned e-commerce transactions on social media, a major blow for TikTok, which had pledged to invest billions of dollars in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, the region's biggest economy. Now they are taking care of it," deputy trade minister Jerry Sambuaga was quoted saying by Antara on Tuesday. It has been looking to translate the large user base into a major e-commerce revenue source. Reuters reported earlier this month that TikTok was in talks on possible partnerships with several Indonesian e-commerce companies, including GoTo's e-commerce unit (GOTO.JK) Tokopedia, Bukalapak.com (BUKA.JK) and Blibli (BELI.JK).

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Antara, Jerry Sambuaga, China's ByteDance, minister's, TikTok, Stefanno Sulaiman, Martin Petty Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, GoTo's, Thomson Locations: Rights JAKARTA, Indonesia, Southeast Asia

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsJAKARTA, Nov 13 (Reuters) - TikTok has been holding talks with Indonesian e-commerce companies about possible partnerships, an Indonesian minister said on Monday, a month after Southeast Asia's largest economy banned online shopping on social media platforms. "Some e-commerce companies in Indonesia have talked to TikTok," he said in an interview, citing what the companies' executives told him. It was a particular blow to TikTok, which was forced to close its e-commerce service TikTok Shop. A TikTok Indonesia spokesperson was not available to comment. Until it stopped operations, TikTok Shop was delivering about 3 million parcels a day in Indonesia, sources have said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Teten Masduki, TikTok, Tokopedia, Bukalapak, Blibli, Joko Widodo, Shou Zi Chew, Teten, Indonesia's, SEA's, Stanley Widianto, Ananda Teresia, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Indonesian, GoTo's, TikTok, YouTube, Meta, Google, Temasek Holdings, Bain & Co, HK, Lazada, Thomson Locations: Rights JAKARTA, Indonesian, Indonesia, Southeast, Singapore

☆ Computer parts maker Logitech appoints Hanneke Faber as CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Technology category · October 30, 2023 · 1:37 PM UTCIndonesia's biggest tech firm PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia will "prudently" make investment to maintain its market share after it reported a narrowed underlying losses in the third quarter, the company CEO said on Monday.

Persons: GoTo Gojek

☆ Indonesia's GoTo reports significant drop in Q3 underlying losses
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JAKARTA, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Indonesia's biggest tech firm PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia (GOTO.JK) reported 942 billion rupiah ($59.30 million) in underlying losses for the third quarter, a significant drop from last year's 3.7 trillion rupiah, the company said on Monday. The results came after the company reached a positive contribution margin since beginning of this year amid cost-cutting measures. "This was underpinned by a reduction in operating expenses as we eliminated redundancies and leveraged our technology to reduce costs," GoTo Group CFO Jacky Lo said in the statement. GoTo, which offers ride-hailing, e-commerce, and financial services, said its net losses for the period were at 2.4 trillion rupiah, a drop from last year's 6.7 trillion rupiah. ($1 = 15,885.0000 rupiah)Reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman; Writing by Stanley Widianto; Editing by Kanupriya KapoorOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: GoTo Gojek Tokopedia, GoTo, Jacky Lo, Japan's, Stefanno Sulaiman, Stanley Widianto, Kanupriya Kapoor Organizations: Japan's SoftBank, Thomson Locations: JAKARTA

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

☆ 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's GoTo narrows losses, says on track for profitability
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Stefanno Sulaiman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JAKARTA, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Indonesia's biggest tech firm GoTo (GOTO.JK) on Tuesday said it had slashed underlying losses in the second quarter to 1.2 trillion rupiah ($78.25 million), down from 4.3 trillion rupiah a year earlier, helped by intense cost-cutting measures. Following positive results for the first half, GoTo revised its 2023 adjusted EBITDA outlook to a loss of between 4.5 trillion rupiah and 3.8 trillion rupiah, from a previously forecast loss of between 5.3 trillion rupiah and 4.6 trillion rupiah. Net revenues for the second quarter of 2023 rose to 3.6 trillion rupiah, up 86.7% from 2022, with the company's overall gross transaction value for the period reaching 143.7 trillion rupiah, it said. The company said it had slashed losses by 48% for the first half compared to a year earlier. Shares in GoTo, shorthand for GoTo Gojek Tokopedia, closed up 6.59% to 97 rupiah per share before the earnings announcement.

Persons: GoTo, Japan's, Patrick Walujo, Walujo, Tokopedia, TikTok, GoTo Gojek Tokopedia, Stefanno Sulaiman, Fanny Potkin, Conor Humphries Organizations: Japan's SoftBank, Thomson Locations: JAKARTA

☆ Southeast Asia's IPO market is an investor favorite amid global headwinds, Deloitte says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Firdaus Wajidi | Anadolu Agency | Getty ImagesSoutheast Asia's initial public offering market is showing promising signs despite a global IPO slowdown in the first half of 2023, according to a new Deloitte report. In the last six months, Southeast Asia's market saw 85 IPOs raising $3.3 billion in proceeds, versus the 73 IPOs in the same period last year which raised $3.1 billion. That's a 16% increase in the number of IPOs and a 5% increase in proceeds for the first half of 2023. Indonesia's rising starIndonesia raised 70% of the total IPO proceeds in Southeast Asia for the first half of 2023. Indonesia "looks set to have its best year ever in terms of listing proceeds with 44 IPOs in 2023 H1," said Deloitte.

Persons: Firdaus, — GoTo, Joko Widodo, Harita Nickel Organizations: Anadolu Agency, Getty, Deloitte, Nasdaq, EV, PT Merdeka Battery Materials, Pertamina Geothermal, Indonesia, Harita Locations: JAKARTA, INDONESIA, Jakarta, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, China

☆ Indonesia's Pertamina, Electrum sign battery packs development deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JAKARTA, June 27 (Reuters) - Indonesia's state energy company Pertamina said late on Monday it plans to develop battery packs for electric motorcycles with Electrum, a firm that aims to put millions of electric two-wheelers on the roads of the Southeast Asian country. The agreement was signed during a groundbreaking ceremony for Electrum's electric scooter plant on Friday, where the company, which is a joint venture between coal miner TBS Energi Utama (TOBA.JK) and giant tech firm GoTo Gojek Tokopedia (GOTO.JK), aims to produce 250,000 units of electric scooters per year. The planned battery packing facility run by Pertamina's renewables unit and Electrum could cover a capacity of about 300 megawatts, Pertamina official Dicky Septriadi said. Indonesia has the world's largest reserves of nickel - a key element in electric vehicle (EV) batteries - and is keen to utilise the mineral to create a full supply chain for the industry. Reporting by Fransiska Nangoy, Bernadette Christina; Editing by Kanupriya KapoorOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Pertamina, GoTo Gojek Tokopedia, Dicky Septriadi, Fransiska Nangoy, Bernadette Christina, Kanupriya Kapoor Organizations: TBS, Utama, Thomson Locations: JAKARTA, Indonesia

JAKARTA, June 15 (Reuters) - 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. Southeast Asia, a region with a collective population of 630 million - half of them under 30 - is one of TikTok's biggest markets in terms of user numbers. "We're going to invest billions of dollars in Indonesia and Southeast Asia over the next few years," TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said at a forum it organised in Jakarta to highlight the social and economic impact of the app in the region. Chew said 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. 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, Shou Zi Chew, Chew, TikTok, Stanley Widanto, Miyoung Kim, Christopher Cushing, Jamie Freed Organizations: HK, Thomson Locations: JAKARTA, Southeast Asia, Sea's, Indonesia, Jakarta, Beijing, Britain, New Zealand, Vietnam

☆ TikTok to invest billions of dollars in Southeast Asia, CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 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. Southeast Asia, a region with a collective population of 630 million — half of them under 30 — is one of TikTok's biggest markets in terms of user numbers. "We're going to invest billions of dollars in Indonesia and Southeast Asia over the next few years," TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said at a forum it organised in Jakarta to highlight the social and economic impact of the app in the region. 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. Chew said content on its platform was becoming more diversified as it adds more users and expands beyond advertising into e-commerce, allowing consumers to purchase goods through links on the app during livestreaming.

Persons: China's ByteDance, Alibaba's, Shou Zi Chew, Chew Locations: Southeast Asia, Sea's, Indonesia, Jakarta, TikTok

☆ 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

☆ New GoTo CEO Walujo may not stay in top job long - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Fanny Potkin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SINGAPORE, June 14 (Reuters) - Incoming GoTo (GOTO.JK) CEO Patrick Walujo is planning to head the Indonesian technology company only temporarily and resign after improving profitability, as he splits his time between it and a private equity firm he co-founded, according to sources. The prominent Indonesian dealmaker, whose private equity firm Northstar Group was one of the earliest backers of GoTo's ride hailing business Gojek, was named as the CEO of GoTo last week. GoTo was created in 2021 through a merger of Gojek and e-commerce firm Tokopedia. Walujo, who will continue to manage Northstar, does not plan to stay for a full three-year term as GoTo CEO, said three sources, including people briefed by him and company investors. The sources said the timing of Walujo's tenure was likely to depend on how quickly he can trim spending and improve profits.

Persons: GoTo, Patrick Walujo, Walujo, Goldman Sachs, Fanny Potkin, Miyoung Kim, Robert Birsel Organizations: Northstar Group, Northstar, Reuters, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Indonesian, Gojek, HK, The Jakarta, U.S, Singapore

☆ Indonesia's GoTo reports narrower Q1 loss, expects core profit in Q4
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Like many other tech companies, GoTo has been reducing its spending and laying off staff this year to ride out the global economic uncertainty. Group CEO Andre Soelistyo said in a statement the company was halfway towards becoming adjusted EBITDA positive in the fourth quarter. "A lower cost base will provide us with additional flexibility to allocate capital for the acceleration of growth in the future," GoTo Group CFO Jacky Lo said. GoTo posted a net loss of 3.9 trillion rupiah in the first three months of 2023, versus a loss of 6.6 trillion rupiah a year earlier. GoTo shares closed up 4.21% at 99 rupiah per share on Thursday before the earnings announcement.

☆ Shares of Indonesia's GoTo fall more than 4% as 2022 loss swells to $2.6 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

GoTo Group posted a wider full-year 2022 net loss of 40.4 trillion rupiah ($2.63 billion) in its latest earnings report. Shares of GoTo Group fell as much as 4.62% on Tuesday after the Indonesian tech giant's annual net loss for 2022 widened. The full-year net loss came in at 40.4 trillion Indonesian rupiah ($2.63 billion) last year, according to its latest earnings report. Here are the key takeaways:Net revenue: 11.3 trillion rupiah, vs. 5.2 trillion rupiah in 2021Adjusted loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization: 16 trillion rupiah, vs. 16.5 trillion rupiah in 2021Net loss: 40.4 trillion rupiah, vs. 25.9 trillion rupiah in 2021And in the fourth quarter of 2022:Net revenue: 3.4 trillion rupiah, vs. 4.5 trillion rupiah in the third quarterAdjusted EBITDA loss: 3.1 trillion rupiah, vs. 3.7 trillion rupiah in the previous quarterGoTo, the combined entity between ride-hailing giant Gojek and e-commerce marketplace Tokopedia, went public on the Indonesia Stock Exchange last April. "This strategy enabled us to reduce incentives and product marketing in fourth quarter 2022 by 34%, or 2.8 trillion rupiah, year-on-year.

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