Indonesian trade minister denies that TikTok filed for ecommerce permit

TikTok Shop offline activity in Jakarta / Photo credit: TikTok

On Tuesday, Indonesia’s Deputy Minister of Trade Jerry Sambuaga said that TikTok is in the process of obtaining an ecommerce permit from the government, state media Antara reported.

But Zulkifli Hasan, Indonesia’s minister of trade and Sambuaga’s direct superior, has denied that claim. Tech in Asia asked Hasan through text message to confirm whether TikTok is applying for such a license or creating a new entity for its ecommerce business.

Hasan did not elaborate further. Tech in Asia has also reached out to Isy Karim, the Ministry of Trade’s director general of domestic trade, for more details.

TikTok has not responded to a request for comment.

After TikTok Shop was shut down in October, the social media firm’s ecommerce future in Indonesia remains in limbo. To overcome regulatory hurdles, one path TikTok is exploring is to partner with local ecommerce players. Most recently, it is said to be in discussions to invest in GoTo and collaborate with Tokopedia to resume ecommerce operations in the country.

The Indonesian government’s ban on companies operating social media and ecommerce in a single platform came in September. The regulation prohibits direct transactions on social media platforms, ultimately leading to TikTok closing its ecommerce services.

Indonesia aside, Malaysia is also studying the possibility of regulating TikTok and its ecommerce features. The Philippines is also considering a TikTok ban among security workers, citing cyberespionage fears.

 See also: Anatomy of a comeback: Can TikTok resurrect its ecommerce biz in Indonesia?