Jakarta. Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan estimates that e-commerce transactions will reach Rp 533 trillion ($34.41 billion) in 2023, a 10.69 percent increase compared to the previous year, which amounted to Rp 476 trillion.

"We must not let the progress of the digital economy harm us. We are an open country. Therefore, e-commerce is regulated to ensure that it does not harm micro, small, and medium-sized businesses," he said during a press conference in Jakarta on Thursday.

Previously, Bank Indonesia (BI) recorded a month-to-month growth in e-commerce transactions in October 2023 of 10.69 percent, reaching Rp 42.2 trillion. Year on year (YoY), there was an increase of 4.99 percent, with total transactions reaching around Rp 506.4 trillion.

According to Zulhas, e-commerce has shown significant potential for Indonesia's economic growth. To support this growth, the Ministry of Trade has issued several ministerial regulations, including restricting social media platforms from engaging in e-commerce, regulations on cross-border electronic trading, and the implementation of a minimum transaction price of $100 for imported goods on online marketplaces.

In September, the government introduced a regulation prohibiting tech giants from conducting e-commerce activities on their social media platforms due to concerns over monopolistic practices. This regulation forced Bytedance's TikTok Shop, a social commerce platform, to shut its operation in Indonesia.

However, China's Bytedance announced in December that it had struck a $ 1.5 billion deal with local tech giant GoTo, paving the way for its online shopping services to return to Indonesia. TikTok Shop Indonesia will combine its business with GoTo's e-commerce unit, Tokopedia. TikTok will also hold a controlling stake in this enlarged entity. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024. 

The government also imposed a minimum price of $100 for transactions involving imported goods on online marketplaces under a regulation aimed at safeguarding the interests of local micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.