“In addition, the deal structure and the consequences of the TikTok Shop's ability to resume its operations also came as a surprise to us. While this is likely a big win for TikTok, it is a big negative for Shopee and to a lesser extent for Lazada.
Analysts are cautious on the outlook for Sea’s e-commerce arm Shopee following rival GoTo and TikTok’s move to combine Tokopedia and TikTok Shop Indonesia’s business.
Citi Research analysts Alicia Yap, Ferry Wong and Nelson Cheung view the move as a net negative for Shopee. They note that the timing of the announcement came sooner than they had expected, especially given the social commerce ban as well as the closure of TikTok Shop in Indonesia which was only about two months ago.
