TikTok to Invest Heavily in SEA with Indonesia taking Priority

The short-form video streaming giant, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, is in a race to dominate e-commerce in the region. Facing growing regulatory scrutiny in the U.S. — the biggest market for the app with 116 million users — TikTok is increasingly investing in its second biggest market: Indonesia, which had 113 million app users as of April, according to Statista. Outside Indonesia, it’s ramping up its focus on Thailand and Malaysia too.

In June, TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew said the company planned to invest “billions of dollars” in Southeast Asia, with Indonesia playing a critical part in the strategy.

“We see our growth opportunity here to be very immense, and we look forward to investing more in this country, and of course in the region,” Chew said, noting that the company had close to 2,000 employees in Indonesia.

Current job advertisements for the company include hundreds of roles related to e-commerce based across the Southeast Asia region.

With increased internet accessibility, online marketplaces have grown across Southeast Asia, with the current penetration rate (excluding food and beverage) being 20% — in contrast to China’s 47% — according to McKinsey, which projects the market will grow to reach $230 billion (¥32.5 trillion) in gross merchandise volume by 2026.