Indonesia is planning to restrict sales of imported goods on digital marketplaces to tighten oversight on companies including ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok.
Under the planned new rules, Indonesia is set to place curbs on imported goods priced below $100, Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan told reporters in Jakarta on Friday. Marketplaces on digital platforms may also have to seek permits and pay taxes like small businesses, he said.
The rules would be a direct hit to online players who are looking to grow their presence in Southeast Asia’s biggest digital market through cross-border e-commerce. The restrictions could mean that companies such as TikTok won’t be able to directly sell inexpensive goods made, for instance, in China, in their online marketplaces — a move aimed at protecting local Indonesian businesses.
TikTok didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
If the law is passed, Indonesia could be the first among countries in Southeast Asia to push back against TikTok’s growing e-commerce presence, just a month after the company said it will invest billions of dollars into the region.
Indonesia, a country of more than 270 million people, is the first market for TikTok’s e-commerce arm and its biggest. The company said it has more than 100 million monthly users in Indonesia who on average spend more than 100 minutes on the app every day.
Read more: TikTok Threat to Amazon Emerges With $20 Billion Shopping Pilot
The Chinese-owned company aims to more than quadruple the size of its global e-commerce business to as much as $20 billion in merchandise sales this year as it expands into the US and Europe, Bloomberg reported last month.
--With assistance from Zheping Huang.
