The Questions behind TikTok and Its Tokopedia Acquisition

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - TikTok Shop's acquisition of Tokopedia changes the Indonesian business map. It is not clear how small and medium enterprises will be protected. TikTok Shop's acquisition of Tokopedia clarifies the motive behind the government's decision to ban and then allow the Chinese online trading platform to operate in Indonesia. As well as bringing benefits for GoTo Gojek Tokopedia, Tokopedia's parent company, it also changes the map of e-commerce in Indonesia. In the middle of December 2023, GoTo announced the sale of 75.01 percent of Tokopedia shares to TikTok Shop for Rp23.3 trillion (around US$1.5 billion). With this massive capital injection, Tokopedia will be in a much stronger position to implement strategies to maintain its hold on the market currently dominated by Shopee, an e-commerce company from Singapore. The strategy of 'burning money' to increase turnover, whic...