Heaptalk, Jakarta — Minister of Communications and Information Technology (Kominfo), Budi Arie Setiadi confirmed that the Chinese e-commerce app Temu will not be allowed into Indonesia. The app had previously raised concerns with the Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Teten Masduki.
“Yes, Temu. Temu is dangerous. We are still monitoring it gradually, and it will not be allowed to operate in Indonesia as our SMEs will suffer. For this reason, the Ministry rejected Temu apps,” Arie said.
On the other hand, Minister Teten Masduki stated that Temu had not yet entered the Indonesian market. He noted that the government was discussing ways to prevent the app’s potential entry.
“It hasn’t entered Indonesia yet. It will be discussed within the government,” Teten said during a recent event at the Smesco Indonesia building.
Temu ships products from Guangzhou to Bangkok via land routes. The platform offers a wide range of products through a cross-border trading system, with shipping taking around five days. The app has already launched in Thailand, following its entry into Malaysia and the Philippines, and reportedly offers discounts of up to 90%.
In a separate statement, Fiki Satari, Special Staff for Creative Economy Empowerment at the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, said that Temu is connected to 80 factories in China and can ship products directly to consumers without resellers.
Temu has been attempting to enter the Indonesian market since September 2022 by registering its trademark. However, its efforts have been delayed due to an existing brand name that is already registered in Indonesia.
Fiki added that despite the trademark issue being under appeal, the app could still enter the country.
“According to our data, Temu is described as a platform with the potential to rival global giants like TikTok and ByteDance,” Fiki said during a recent discussion on imported products at the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs.
For these reasons, as explained by Fiki, the government and the Ministry of Cooperatives are prohibiting the Chinese app from entering Indonesia to protect local businesses and support the growth of domestic SMEs.
