TikTok to buy GoTo's Indonesia e-commerce business in US$1.5bil deal

FILE PHOTO: The TikTok app logo is seen in this illustration taken August 22, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

JAKARTA: TikTok will take a controlling stake in an e-commerce unit of Indonesia's biggest tech firm, PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia, a partnership that will see the video app invest $1.5 billion over long term, the companies said on Monday.

The deal comes after Indonesia in October banned online shopping on social media platforms to protect smaller merchants and users' data, forcing TikTok to close its e-commerce service TikTok Shop.