Image: (APA/AFP/KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV)
The revenues of the Bytedance group increased by more than 30 percent to over 80 billion dollars (around 74 billion euros) in 2022, according to the website “The Information” and the financial service Bloomberg. Bytedance named the number in a letter to its investors, Bloomberg reported on Monday.
Bytedance is not listed on the stock exchange and does not have to publish any business figures. Exactly how much TikTok contributed to group sales remained unclear. It is likely to remain a small proportion, while the bulk of the business is generated in the home market. Bytedance operates the separate Chinese TikTok variant Douyin there. “The Information” pointed out that TikTok predicted advertising revenue of around $10 billion for the year in November, two and a half times as much as in 2021. TikTok has more than a billion users worldwide.
Discussion about ban
The short video platform is under pressure in the West after warnings that Chinese authorities are spying on users. TikTok dismisses the suspicions and is courting trust with plans for data storage in the US and Europe, as well as independent oversight. In the US – where TikTok has more than 150 million users – the model doesn’t seem to cut it. There is increasing discussion about a ban on the app. According to media reports, US authorities are demanding that Chinese shareholders withdraw.
TikTok emphasizes that it does not see itself as a subsidiary of a Chinese group, since Bytedance is 60 percent owned by western investors and the official company headquarters are on the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean. Critics counter that the Chinese founders held 20 percent of the control thanks to higher voting rights and that Bytedance has a large headquarters in Beijing.
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