Indonesia bans e-commerce company Temu over fears its small businesses could be ‘destroyed’

“We want the digital space to be filled with things that make society more productive and profitable. If it’s harmful, what’s the point? We will ban it. Our micro, small and medium-sized enterprises will be destroyed if they are not controlled,” he continued.

The Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs previously said Temu had tried three times to register to do business in Indonesia.

Since September 2022, it has been trying to register with the Ministry of Law and Human Rights regarding trademark rights, Fiki Satari, Special Team for Strengthening the Creative Economy at the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, said in August.

Its registration was not approved because there was already a company using that name.

The Temu app became a topic of discussion after the company’s appearance at the E-commerce Expo 2024, which took place on September 24 and 25 in Greater Jakarta.

Ago, available in about 60 countries, launched in Southeast Asia last year, starting with the Philippines last August and Malaysia last September. In July this year, it expanded its operations to Thailand.

Last October, Indonesia also banned TikTok Shop, citing the need to protect smaller sellers and user data. But in January, the short-form video giant bought a 75% stake in Indonesian e-commerce company Tokopedia, marking its re-entry into the market.

Read this article in Bahasa Indonesia here.