Reports of Shopee launching app to rival TikTok inaccurate, says source

Details:

• The report noted that Shopee might team up with an existing content platform on the project instead of launching an independent product. The ecommerce firm’s short-video team reportedly includes several former ByteDance employees.
• However, a person familiar with the development told Tech in Asia that reports that suggest Shopee is launching a direct competitor to TikTok are not accurate. The source added that Shopee is currently in the early stages of testing a new social feature that will complement its existing gaming, livestreaming, and social feed services.

Dive deeper:

• Venturing into the social media space would likely be a challenging task for Shopee. In order to take on TikTok, Shopee may have to hire an “exceptional” leader from the industry and can’t pin its hopes on recruiting few key employees from ByteDance, according to a Momentum Works article.
• Meanwhile, Shopee’s advertising and marketing business is turning into a money spinner for the company. If the ecommerce firm captures just 8% of the digital ad spend in Southeast Asia, it could rake in about US$400 million in advertising revenue. (Read: Sea: The next advertising powerhouse?)