Thai PM Orders Probe into Whether Temu Complies with Laws and Pays Taxes

TapTechNews August 4th news, according to Thaipbsworld, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has tasked the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, the Tax Bureau and the police to investigate whether the e-commerce platform Temu under Pinduoduo complies with Thai laws and pays the required taxes.

Srettha said that the influx of foreign e-commerce platforms poses a challenge to the Thai retail industry as they have strong financial resources and advanced technologies, making it difficult for Thai local enterprises to compete. He also warned that any Thai official who helps these foreign platforms evade taxes will be severely punished.

The Chinese e-commerce giant Temu has quietly entered the Thai market and offers discounts of up to 90% on Chinese-made goods. Temu launched its service in Thailand on July 31, becoming the third country in Southeast Asia after the Philippines and Malaysia.

The most prominent feature of Temu's service is its rapid delivery service, and it can deliver products from Guangdong Province, China to Thailand in as fast as 5 days. According to the 2024 Southeast Asian E-commerce Report released by MomentumWorks, the Thai e-commerce market was valued at approximately 19 billion US dollars (TapTechNews note: currently about 136.63 billion Chinese yuan) last year, an increase of 34.1% and is the second largest market in Southeast Asia after Indonesia. Currently, the Thai e-commerce market share is mainly occupied by Shopee (49%), Lazada (30%) and TikTokShop (21%), and local platforms have not yet occupied a measurable market share.