TikTok Shop’s Project S attracts political scrutiny in Indonesia

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IN FOCUS

In today’s newsletter, we look at:

• TikTok’s Project S raises concerns for MSMEs in Indonesia
• Southeast Asia’s live commerce space follows the shifting trends in China

Hi there,

TikTok’s Project S has recently caught the attention of the national media in Indonesia.

Teten Masduki (the minister of cooperatives and SMEs) and Indonesia’s House of Representatives have expressed their concerns that this initiative could threaten the country’s MSMEs.

Project S is TikTok’s effort to directly sell its own products, similar to Amazon Basics. However, TikTok Indonesia maintains that this initiative is currently not available in the country and that it does not operate a cross-border business.

In this week’s Big Story, I delve into the issue to make sense of what is happening.

While the concern of cross-border sales in ecommerce is not new in Indonesia (Shopee and Lazada have previously faced similar situations), TikTok Shop’s growing influence in the country’s ecommerce landscape means that its actions are bound to attract close scrutiny.

Meanwhile, trends are shifting in the live commerce space in China, where companies are starting to rely less on influencers. On the other hand, companies in Southeast Asia still seem very much dependent on influencers to move products.

In this week’s Hot Take, I discuss the possibility of whether platforms in the region will end up following their counterparts in China. Read below for details.

— Jofie

THE BIG STORY

TikTok’s Project S triggers alarm bells in Indonesia

Image credit: Timmy Loen

THE HOT TAKE

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