TikTok Affirms No Intention To Launch Project S In Indonesia

JAKARTA - A few months ago, news circulated that TikTok's parent company, ByteDance plans to launch Project S, its new e-commerce platform, which is considered to threaten MSMEs in Indonesia.

Unlike TikTok Shop, which operates as an online sales platform, where all traders can showcase and sell their products, Project S is referred to as a platform where ByteDance companies will immediately sell their own merchandise.

However, in a live clarification on its official website, ByteDance said that they had absolutely no plans to launch Project S in Indonesia.

"Project S has never existed in Indonesia and we have no plans to have Project S in Indonesia," the company wrote on September 22.

"We don't have a cross-border business and 100% of sellers on TikTok Shop have local business entities registered with business identification numbers (NIB) or are local micro entrepreneurs with ID / passport verification," he added.

Furthermore, TikTok also straightens out the myth that Project S will become a platform for TikTok to sell its own products.

TikTok even said that they do not produce any products. They also have no intention of becoming retailers, as competitors for sellers in Indonesia.

"TikTok does not produce its own products on its platform. We have no intention of becoming a retailer or wholesaler who will compete with sellers in Indonesia," said the Chinese company.