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TikTok in Talks with Indonesian E-commerce Firms about Partnerships

The TikTok logo is pictured outside the company's US head office in Culver City, California, US, September 15, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake
The TikTok logo is pictured outside the company's US head office in Culver City, California, US, September 15, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake
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TikTok in Talks with Indonesian E-commerce Firms about Partnerships

The TikTok logo is pictured outside the company's US head office in Culver City, California, US, September 15, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake
The TikTok logo is pictured outside the company's US head office in Culver City, California, US, September 15, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

TikTok has been holding talks with Indonesian e-commerce companies about possible partnerships, an Indonesian minister said on Monday, a month after Southeast Asia's largest economy banned online shopping on social media platforms.
TikTok has spoken with five companies including GoTo's e-commerce unit Tokopedia, Bukalapak.com and Blibli, according to Teten Masduki, minister for small-medium enterprises (SMEs), Reuters said.
"Some e-commerce companies in Indonesia have talked to TikTok," he said in an interview, citing what the companies' executives told him.
Indonesia's trade ministry implemented the ban last month, aiming to protect smaller brick-and-mortar merchants and ensure the protection of users' data.
It was a particular blow to TikTok, which was forced to close its e-commerce service TikTok Shop. TikTok has 125 million users in Indonesia.
A TikTok Indonesia spokesperson was not available to comment.
Tokopedia declined to comment. A representative for Bukalapak said the company was unaware of such talks. Blibli did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
TikTok and YouTube are considering joining Meta in applying for e-commerce licenses in Indonesia after Southeast Asia's largest economy banned online shopping on social media platforms, people familiar with the discussions have said.
The app, owned by Chinese technology giant Bytedance, was also pursuing talks with local e-commerce players, they added.
Teten, one of the staunchest critics of TikTok Shop prior to the ban, said he has been tasked by President Joko Widodo to formulate rules on e-commerce.
He plans to meet TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew later this month.
"I want them to commit to have a sustainable business that does not harm domestic SME products," he said.
Teten also said he has proposed further regulations for the flow of imported goods into the country but did not provide details.
Until it stopped operations, TikTok Shop was delivering about 3 million parcels a day in Indonesia, sources have said.
Indonesia's e-commerce market is expected to grow to around $160 billion by 2030 from $62 billion this year, according to a report on Southeast Asia's internet economy by Google, Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings and consultancy Bain & Co.
Other major e-commerce players in Indonesia include SEA's Shopee and Alibaba's Lazada.

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After Years of Survival, China’s Huawei Returns to Revenue Peak 

Logo of Huawei is seen in front of the local offices of Huawei in Warsaw, Poland January 11, 2019. (Reuters)
Logo of Huawei is seen in front of the local offices of Huawei in Warsaw, Poland January 11, 2019. (Reuters)
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After Years of Survival, China’s Huawei Returns to Revenue Peak 

Logo of Huawei is seen in front of the local offices of Huawei in Warsaw, Poland January 11, 2019. (Reuters)
Logo of Huawei is seen in front of the local offices of Huawei in Warsaw, Poland January 11, 2019. (Reuters)

China's Huawei is expected to claim triumph over US sanctions at its upcoming annual results, bolstered by its software push, progress in chips and booming smart-driving technology business that has helped it move out of "survival mode".

The company is set to confirm that it took 860 billion yuan ($118 billion) in revenues last year, just shy of its 2020 peak of 891 billion yuan, before chip stockpiles dwindled and US restrictions cut consumer business revenues in half. Its chairman disclosed its 2024 revenue in February.

It will also report full-year profit. In October, it posted a 13.7% drop in nine-month net profit.

Huawei's executives have previously said Washington's moves pushed the company into "survival mode", driving it to explore new business lines that have largely involved creating products that can serve as alternatives to Western technology and partnering with local Chinese authorities and government-backed firms.

The company has in past months struck a more confident tone, with founder Ren Zhengfei telling Chinese President Xi Jinping in May that concerns China had about a lack of homegrown chips and operating systems had eased.

Huawei has not disclosed in detail its revenue drivers, but has said that its consumer business has returned to growth while its foray into autos has developed rapidly.

The company likely shipped over 45 million phones in 2024, up by 25% or more on a year earlier, though yield rates on chips remain a constraint, according to consultancy Isaiah Research.

"Huawei has already shown incredible resilience in the face of this national state-led effort, and this process has arguably forced Chinese firms across the IT stack to become more innovative and collaborative," said Paul Triolo, a partner at DGA-Albright Stonebridge Group.

"This is one of the legacies of Huawei's re-emergence as a technology powerhouse."

Huawei declined to comment.

In the wake of US sanctions, Huawei moved into exploring areas such as building 5G infrastructure for mines and supplying energy storage systems to data centers.

Cut off from Google's Android and Oracle, it built its own operating system HarmonyOS, which it says is running on over a billion devices, as well as an internal software management system it calls "MetaERP".

Banned from using US semiconductor technology, it has created its own advanced chips including ones that compete with top artificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia's products.

The company has also become a prominent supplier of advanced autonomous driving technology, working with state-owned automakers to revive themselves as viable electric vehicle makers.

Huawei has worked with Dongfeng Motor-backed Seres to sell Aito-branded cars, with sales more than tripling last year.

Its best-selling models M7 and M9 are equipped with Huawei's advanced driver assistance systems and sold in Huawei's showrooms nationwide.

There are similar projects with Chery, BAIC, JAC Group and SAIC Group.

Going forward, the company has said it wants to integrate artificial intelligence into its industrial communications services and to build out its software systems on connected devices, according to state media.

Huawei has also signaled it intends to compete more aggressively in overseas markets for its smartphones, having launched its foldable Mate XT smartphone in Malaysia in February in a glitzy event.

Without full access to Android, it is unlikely to regain its former position in Western consumer markets, though its data infrastructure presence has grown in areas such as the Middle East, Triolo said.

"Huawei's international presence will be more of a patchwork affair, but in some areas, like an alternative AI stack, it could eventually dominate in key markets."