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We update you on the most essential news from Asia in tech, media, and business—the things you need to know that you probably haven’t heard in Western media.
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Indian Government Bans 59 Chinese Mobile Apps 🚫
The Indian government announced yesterday that it has banned 59 Chinese Mobile Apps, citing concerns that the apps engaged in activity “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order.” There are also allegations that these apps, such as TikTok, are sharing Indian user data with the Chinese government, which has been publicly denied by the companies.
This comes against the backdrop of military skirmishes between India and China earlier this month in a disputed Himalayan border, which resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian troops. Prior to this ban, there were many calls to boycott Chinese goods and stop Chinese imports, which will have a huge effect on the $90 Billion in bilateral trade between the two countries each year.
Among the affected apps — two of the most notable are TikTok and WeChat. India is TikTok’s largest market outside of China and it’s estimated that there are over 120 Million Indian TikTok users. Is this the death of TikTok India? While there are many people in India who support the ban, the combined users of these total apps is around 300 Million. And these people could be using apps for pure entertainment (Clash of Kings, Helo, TikTok) or business reasons (ShareIT, WeChat, UC Browser). Depending on how long this ban lasts, there’s now a major opportunity for local Indian companies to take advantage of the ban and provide domestic alternatives.
Korean Fund Set Up to Promote Local Media 🇰🇷
The Korean government has announced the creation of a new 1 trillion won (USD $825 Million) fund to invest in local media companies. There are also plans to decrease regulation in order to allow local media tech startups to compete with players like Netflix and Youtube. This also comes on top of several government investments in private sector infrastructure, such as an announcement earlier this year of $15 Billion in new infrastructure funds.
A trend I believe we will start seeing more is the decentralisation of popular culture, away from the dominance of Hollywood throughout the second half of the twentieth century. Korea already punches above its weight when it comes to global cultural influence, but could we start seeing a renaissance in Korean pop culture? Korea arguably had the most advanced professional gaming industry earlier than any other country. K-pop has taken over the world over the last few years. In February of this year, Korean film Parasite became the very first foreign language film to win the Best Picture Oscar. And K-Dramas have been dominating Asia for years. What’s next for Korea?
Chinese K.O.L.s vs. Western Influencers 📊
Daxue Consulting wrote an article comparing Chinese influencers (KOLs - Key Opinion Leaders) with Western Influencers. It was a fascinating look at the similarities and differences between the Eastern and Western worlds of social media and influence. The biggest tool Chinese influencers use differently to monetise is livestreaming, which is the number one focus for KOLs like Austin Li and Viya. For Li and Viya, their livestreams can average up to $250,000 USD in revenue per minute over the course of a several hour long livestream.
In one case study, they focus on comparing Jeffree Star (one of the biggest American beauty influencers) and Austin Li (one of the biggest Chinese beauty influencers). Jeffree Star’s annual income is estimated to be $100 Million and Austin Li’s is estimated to be $140 Million. Jeffree Star is notable for having own brand of cosmetics and products, a model more common in America, while Li does not have his own ‘vertical business line’ and instead uses his influence to market products from other brands. We should watch closely to see how the East-West influencer strategies evolve.
Update #16 - India-China Apps, Korean Media, and East-West Influencers