2023-06-15 07:52:03 ET
The CEO of TikTok, the popular social networking app owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance ( BDNCE ), said on Thursday that it would invest billions of dollars in Southeast Asia as it looks to grow in the region.
"We're going to invest billions of dollars in Indonesia and Southeast Asia over the next few years," TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said at a forum in Jakarta, Indonesia, according to Reuters.
TikTok, which has more than 1.6B monthly active users, added the money would be spent on training, advertising and support of vendors looking to join TikTok Shop, its nascent e-commerce platform.
TikTok is looking to grow its e-commerce revenue in the region as it competes with others such as Alibaba's ( BABA ) Lazada and Sea's ( SE ) Shopee.
In November 2022, TikTok turned on its e-commerce engine in the U.S., but it has had fits and starts, amid continued privacy concerns over a potential security deal in the region.
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TikTok to invest billions in Southeast Asia over next few years: CEO