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☆ The first combined IHOP-Applebee’s restaurant in the US will soon open in Texas
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-07 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

That will soon become a reality in Texas with a new restaurant that unites the two chains under the same roof. Dine Brands, which owns the two restaurants, announced that the combined Applebee’s-IHOP restaurant will open approximately 35 miles west of San Antonio early next year, marking the first time the company has brought the concept to the United States. Plans for the dual-branded restaurant were announced earlier this year as part of Dine Brand’s plan to grow the two restaurants, which both reported lackluster earnings Wednesday. The idea is to maximize revenue with the same footprint of a traditional restaurant. That’s because the two restaurants’ menus encompass all parts of the day (pancakes and eggs Benedict for breakfast and steak and wings for dinner) and will have staff trained to work with both.

Persons: San Antonio, IHOP’s, Benedict, ”, John Peyton, Peyton, ” Peyton, ” Hottovy, Anne’s, Jimmy John’s Organizations: New, New York CNN, Dine Brands, CNN, “, GoTo Foods, Inspire Brands Locations: New York, Texas, San, United States, Dine, Applebee’s, Canada, Latin America

☆ Nomura: Japan economy still doing well, foresee BoJ December rate hike
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailNomura: Japan economy still doing well, foresee BoJ December rate hikeYujiro Goto of Nomura expects the dollar-yen cross to trade between 140 and 145 as concerns over new Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's policies dissipates. Japanese businesses remain resilient, paving the way for a potential rate hike by the Bank of Japan in December 2024.

Persons: Goto, Nomura, Shigeru Organizations: Email Nomura, Bank of Japan Locations: Japan

☆ BOJ decision on rates will be a 'very close call,' strategist says
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBOJ decision on rates will be a 'very close call,' strategist saysYujiro Goto, head of FX strategy for Japan at Nomura, says wage data has been improving, but the Bank of Japan will be concerned about weak consumption.

Persons: Yujiro Goto Organizations: Nomura, Bank of Japan Locations: Japan

☆ Dyson spheres: Could alien megastructures exist in the Milky Way? Scientists found 7 places to look
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Now, a new study that looked at 5 million stars in the Milky Way galaxy suggests that seven candidates could potentially be hosting Dyson spheres — a finding that’s attracting scrutiny and alternate theories. If Dyson spheres really exist, what could they be used for? “Freeman Dyson said that we should dismantle Jupiter — the whole planet (for the raw materials).”That supercolossal scale probably means that Dyson spheres, if they exist at all, are very rare. “However, contamination by circumstellar debris disks, which mimic Dyson Sphere infrared signatures, remains a concern,” he added in an email. However, he added, the radiation fingerprint of the seven Dyson sphere candidates might be explained by natural phenomena as well.

Persons: Freeman Dyson, ”, Dyson, Olaf Stapledon’s, George Dyson, ’, Freeman J, couldn’t, Matías Suazo, Suazo, “, Webb, that’s, Gabriella Contardo, NASA’s James Webb, ” Suazo, “ Freeman Dyson, Jason Wright, James Webb, —, Leslie Surginer, ” George Dyson, Tomotsugu Goto, Zaza Osmanov, ” Osmanov, George Organizations: CNN, Institute of, “, ‘, AP, Dyson, SETI Institute, Fermi, Accelerator Laboratory, Fermilab, Royal Astronomical Society, Uppsala University, NASA, Survey, JPL, ESA, European Space Agency, Micron, Sky Survey, University of Massachusetts, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, International School, Studies, Telescope, Penn State University, James Webb Space Telescope, William Press, Computer Science, University of Texas, Tsing Hua, SETI, of Physics, Free University of Tbilisi Locations: British, Princeton , New Jersey, Sweden, Trieste, Italy, Austin, Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, Georgia

☆ Diners are cutting back on weekday meals out so that they can spend more on the weekends instead, a restaurant CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewDiners are cutting back on meals out during the week and saving the money for the weekends instead, a restaurant executive says. Jim Holthouser, CEO of GoTo Foods, formerly known as Focus Brands, said that some diners had been limiting their spending. GoTo Foods owns Cinnabon, Auntie Anne's, Jamba, Moe's Southwest Grill, McAlister's Deli, Schlotzsky's, and Carvel. The data only compares restaurant spending in 2019 and 2023, and doesn't show how this has changed in recent months. Estimated retail sales from GoTo Foods' licensing partners totaled about $1.5 billion in 2023, or just over a quarter of total sales across its brand portfolio.

Persons: —, Jim Holthouser, Auntie Anne's, Carvel, Holthouser, Wendy's, GoTo, Anne's pretzels Organizations: Service, GoTo Foods, Focus Brands, Business, Subway

☆ SoftBank Vision Fund posts first annual gain in 3 years, up $4.6 billion
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

SoftBank's Vision Fund, the brainchild of the company's founder Masayoshi Son, has faced a number of headwinds including a slump in technology stocks as a result of rising interest rates, a tough China market and geopolitics. SoftBank posted a 7.24 billion Japanese yen ($4.6 billion) gain on its Vision Fund in the fiscal year ended March, the first time the flagship tech investment arm has been in the black since 2021. SoftBank's flagship tech investment arm, the Vision Fund, had a tough time in the fiscal year that ended in March 2023, posting a record loss of around $32 billion amid a slump in tech stock prices and the souring of some of the business' bets in China. However, in the June quarter of last year, the Vision Fund posted its first investment gain in five consecutive quarters, signalling early stages of a recovery. SoftBank's Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto said in the previous quarter that SoftBank had shifted from an "Alibaba to AI-centric portfolio."

Persons: Masayoshi Son, SoftBank, Masayoshi, Yoshimitsu Goto, Goto Organizations: Vision, Vision Fund Locations: China, Alibaba

☆ Looks like Masayoshi Son's plan to go all in on AI is starting to pay off for SoftBank
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Japanese billionaire's conglomerate posted a $1.5 billion profit for its latest quarter. The gains come off the back of its big bet on chip firm ARM, which is targeting AI opportunities. Arm Holdings CEO Rene Haas is seeking to capitalize on the AI boom. But as the appetite for ARM's AI activities show, SoftBank has room to grow in the face of the latest boom. If he's able to find the right bets, AI could pay off handsomely in the long term.

Persons: Masayoshi, —, It's, SoftBank, Rene Haas, Michael M, Yoshimitsu Goto, Son, WeWork, AI's Organizations: ARM, Service, Son, Nasdaq, Apple, Arm, Funds, Nvidia Locations: Tokyo, Cambridge, London, Alibaba

☆ Nomura: there is 'high chance' for the Japanese government to intervene if dollar-yen surpasses 152
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailNomura: there is 'high chance' for the Japanese government to intervene if dollar-yen surpasses 152Yujiro Goto of Nomura discusses the change in rhetoric during Japan's three finance parties meeting, and possibility for intervention as the yen continues to weaken against the dollar.

Persons: Goto, Nomura Organizations: Email Nomura

☆ Indonesia's GoTo denies merger talks with ride-hailing rival Grab
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Sheila Chiang | In Sheilachiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Photographer: Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesIndonesian tech giant GoTo on Tuesday denied it is in merger discussions with Singapore-based ride-hailing rival Grab . "The company would also like to emphasize that currently, the company is not having any discussion on such matters," said GoTo in a Tuesday filing. "The company would like to emphasize that the company has an increasingly strong fundamentals and financial position," said GoTo. The firm added that it has achieved "positive adjusted EBITDA target in Q4 2023, while exceeding the top end of its full year adjusted EBITDA guidance range." Grab closed 1.2% lower on the Nasdaq on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off in U.S. markets.

Persons: Indonesia's GoTo, Dimas Ardian, GoTo Organizations: ByteDance, Indonesia's, Bloomberg, Getty, Nasdaq Locations: Jakarta, Indonesia, Singapore, U.S

☆ Masayoshi Son made $72 billion betting on Jack Ma's Alibaba. Now he wants to do it again with AI.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewMasayoshi Son owes much of his success to an incredibly prescient dot-com era bet on Alibaba. The SoftBank chief first invested $20 million in Jack Ma's ecommerce upstart in 2000, when it was just a year old. That faith was handsomely rewarded, with SoftBank realizing an incredible $72 billion gain on its investments in Alibaba over the course of 23 years. Arm and the Vision Funds collectively represent 70% of SoftBank’s net asset value, a key performance indicator that reflects the total value of its holdings. Arm, SoftBank's latest golden child, is on course to deliver, but there is still much work to be done to get the Vision Funds back on track.

Persons: —, Jack Ma's ecommerce, Ma, Son, Masayoshi Son's, Jack Ma, Alibaba, ChatGPT, Yoshimitsu Goto, SoftBank, Uber, Sam Altman, he'll Organizations: Service, Business, Future Publishing, Vision, Apple, Google, Nvidia, Samsung, Nasdaq, Funds Locations: Alibaba, China, British, London

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

☆ Southeast Asia is on the cusp of a 'supercharged' digital payments revolution, PwC says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Widespread mobile ownership, together with rapid digitalization after the pandemic, helped spur the expansion of digital financial services in Southeast Asia, said PwC. PwC"This enhanced availability and convenience of digital payments will see the bulk of the regional population leveraging mainstream digital financial products, such as e-wallets, further expediting the expansion of financial services," said PwC. watch now"Consumers are adopting digital financial services at a rapid pace. Cash is no longer king, as digital payments now make up more than 50% of the region's transactions," a recent Google, Temasek and Bain & Company report wrote. "In some regions such as Southeast Asia, [digital payments via e-wallets] are already more common than physical card payments and set to dominate point-of-sale [systems] overall," wrote Dan Jones and Alex Walker of OliverWyman.

Persons: PwC, hawkers, —, Cash, Dan Jones, Alex Walker of OliverWyman Organizations: Banking, Getty, Careem, Mercado Libre, Temasek, Bain & Company Locations: China, East Asia, Shanghai, Banking Asia, Asia, Southeast Asia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Laos, Cambodia, Paytm, India, AliPay, Latin America

☆ 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

☆ SoftBank’s optimistic talk falls on deaf ears
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SoftBank Group Corp Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son speaks during their joint news conference with Toyota Motor Corp President Akio Toyoda (not pictured) in Tokyo, Japan October 4, 2018. REUTERS/Issei Kato Acquire Licensing RightsSINGAPORE, Nov 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - All credit to SoftBank’s (9984.T) finance chief for trying to accentuate the positive. The weakening currency lopped off 183 billion yen. Taking such a big loss when analysts, per S&P Capital IQ, expected a $1.2 billion profit, though, was. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Masayoshi Son, Akio Toyoda, Issei Kato, Yoshimitsu Goto, SoftBank, Antony Currie, Thomas Shum Organizations: SoftBank Group, Toyota Motor Corp, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, X, SEC, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Rights SINGAPORE, Arm’s

“After China's ban on Japanese seafood, we are seeing more customers buying not only Fukushima fish but also Japanese seafood in general to support the industry." Despite the wastewater discharges, auction prices at Fukushima fish markets have remained stable — or even occasionally higher than normal. While individual consumers favor ordering fish by mail and shopping at seafood markets, prefectural government cafeterias have started serving Fukushima seafood for lunch. In Kyoto, a group of world-renowned Japanese “Kaiseki” cuisine chefs, will develop menus that primarily use Fukushima fish starting early next year. “I wish I could sell more local fish,” Haga said.

Persons: Kazuto Harada, “, ”, “ I'm, it’s, Futoshi Kinoshita, Katsuya Goto, ” Goto, Yoshinori Tanaka, ” Tanaka, Haga, ” Haga Organizations: —, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Tokyo Electric Power Company, United States Embassy, TEPCO, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Japanese Culinary Academy Locations: IWAKI, Japan, Onahama, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tokyo, South Korea, Beijing, China, Kyoto, Toriyone, Asia, asia

☆ Samurai trash collectors clean Tokyo streets after Halloween revels
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Francis Tang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Keisuke Naka and Ikki Goto, members of Gomihiroi Samurai (trash-picking samurai) clad in denim yukata, poses for a photograph as they pick up trash on the street of Ikebukuro in the morning after Halloween in Tokyo, Japan November 1, 2023. REUTERS/Issei Kato Acquire Licensing RightsTOKYO, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Trash collectors in samurai costumes took to Tokyo's streets on Wednesday, theatrically wielding garbage tongs and flicking litter left from an evening of Halloween revelry into wicker baskets on their backs. Dressed in hats and boldly patterned black-and-white tunics, the group, known as Gomihiroi Samurai, or trash-picking samurai, has attracted a large fan base since it formed in 2006, with nearly 800,000 followers on video-sharing platform TikTok. Occasions such as Halloween leave a lot of trash, as street drinking has become common in bustling areas and tourist spots, Naka said. Residents of the area say the trash-picking samurai have made a difference.

Persons: Keisuke Naka, Ikki Goto, Issei Kato, Naka, Junya, Francis Tang, John Geddie, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Residents, Thomson Locations: Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan, Naka

☆ 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

SummaryCompanies India's Avendus to launch investment banking in Southeast AsiaKKR-backed Avendus' managing director Gupta to move to SingaporeAvendus expects Southeast Asia to grow fast in coming yearsMUMBAI, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Indian financial services firm Avendus will start offering investment banking services from Singapore to cash in on an expected technology sector dealmaking boom in the Southeast Asia region. Karan Sharma, a managing director for Avendus in India said the operations from Singapore will focus on advising technology sector funding rounds of $40-50 million in Southeast Asia. Sharma said Avendus India Managing Director Varun Gupta will lead the Southeast Asia operations and relocate to Singapore early next year. The demographics and infrastructure challenges are similar," said Sharma, who co-heads Avendus' Digital & Technology Investment Banking division in India. Dealmaking in Southeast Asia should help lift Asian mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the second half of the year, bankers told Reuters in June.

Persons: Gupta, Avendus, Karan Sharma, Sharma, Varun Gupta, GoTo, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Sriram, Yantoultra Ngui, Aditya Kalra, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Asia KKR, Singapore Avendus, U.S, KKR, Avendus, & Technology Investment Banking, Tiger Global, Reuters, Asia, Accel, Lightspeed, Venture Intelligence, Thomson Locations: Asia, Singapore, Southeast Asia, MUMBAI, 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

[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

☆ 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

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