Discount shopping giant Temu enters Vietnam and Brunei as app faces ban in Indonesia

The latest expansion initiatives of Temu reflect its efforts to grow in Southeast Asia, home to nearly 700 million people

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Temu is currently available in more than 80 countries and territories. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 9:00pm, 11 Oct 2024

International discount-shopping platform Temu, operated by Pinduoduo owner PDD Holdings, is expanding into Vietnam and Brunei to boost its Southeast Asia operations, following Indonesia’s recent move to ban the popular e-commerce app.

Temu’s website in Vietnam, however, showed that the company’s foray into one of the fastest-growing economies in the region was apparently rushed. It currently supports only English as well as transactions made via credit card and Google Pay, while excluding leading Vietnamese mobile payment service Momo.

In affluent Brunei, Temu is available in both English and the official Malay language. The tiny nation, with a population of more 450,000, has one of the world’s highest standards of living, based on its bountiful oil and gas reserves.

Temu did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

Indonesia’s Minister of Communication and Informatics, Budi Arie Setiadi, gestures during an interview at his office in Jakarta on June 14, 2024. Photo: Reuters

The latest expansion initiatives of Temu reflect its efforts to grow in Southeast Asia – home to nearly 700 million people and collectively amounts to the world’s fifth-largest economy, according to think tank Lowy Institute – even as the company faces a ban in Indonesia, which is the region’s biggest e-commerce market.

Earlier this month, Indonesia banned Temu to protect its micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and prevent cheap products from flooding the country.