TikTok’s e-commerce gross merchandise value (GMV) hit $1 billion in the first half of 2022, almost equal to last year’s total, Chinese media outlet LatePost reported on Wednesday. TikTok’s monthly average GMVs for e-commerce in Indonesia and the UK exceeded $200 million and $24 million, respectively, in this period. LatePost attributed the rapid growth to a lower base amount and the company’s expansion in Southeast Asia. People familiar with the matter told LatePost that TikTok had put more effort into recruiting merchants in Indonesia since the end of 2021. It has achieved 493% and 92% growth in orders and GMV during the Eid al-Fitr period in April in Indonesia, an important Islamic holiday. But TikTok is still far from catching up with other more established e-commerce giants in the region. For example, Singapore’s Shopee had a $60 billion GMV in 2021. [LatePost, in Chinese]