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Presidential election years in the US always make for strange and fascinating political theater, and 2024 has been no exception so far.
For instance, who would have thought that former President Donald Trump would flip-flop on his stance on TikTok? Just four years ago he threatened to ban the app – now he’s opposing efforts to follow through on that threat.
Media coverage of the ban’s political implications has been done to death, but what of the impact on ByteDance? Fueled by TikTok’s global influence, ByteDance – as its recent financials show – could exceed Meta as the world’s top-earning social media firm.
We asked some investment analysts for their take on how this latest drama could play out for ByteDance. Watch this space for more to come between now and November though.
Today we look at:
- A countdown for TikTok and ByteDance?
- Singtel eyeing cloud computing play with Nvidia tech
- Other newsy highlights such as Alibaba’s grocery arm Freshippo hiring a new CEO after IPO blip and GrabPay to start accepting crypto in Singapore.
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TikTok on the clock in the US?
Image credit: Timmy Loen
TikTok’s days in the US may be numbered after the House of Representatives voted in favor of a bill that would force owner ByteDance to sell up or face a ban of the short-video app.
ByteDance has fought the bill hard, but what could its long-term effect be on the company? Tech in Asia to investment analysts and US-China experts to find out.
- Upside financially: Ka-ming Lim, CEO and co-founder of Singapore fintech firm MoneyFitt, said there could be a positive spin to a sale for ByteDance and its shareholders. The company could relatively easily assuage concerns over TikTok’s Chinese ownership and go public with an IPO in the US. At the right price, the combined value of the private ByteDance and public TikTok could exceed ByteDance’s current worth.
- Step back: On the other hand, the ban could blunt any IPO ambitions ByteDance has, according to Dr Wealth CEO Alvin Chow. He said that without TikTok, ByteDance would be more reliant on its Chinese platform Douyin – not an ideal position given investors’ caution about putting their money in China recently.
- Political football: Sisi Song, who has investment experience at JP Morgan, Alibaba, and Bessemer Venture Partners, said the bill is the latest example of the weaponization of global Chinese companies by US regulators. This has already led to investors putting a discount on their valuation of TikTok to account for the regulatory uncertainty, Song added.
Read more: US TikTok ban looms: What’s next for ByteDance?
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