Chinese short video platform Douyin now counts about 40 per cent of Hong Kong’s 7.5 million residents as users, about five years after social media giant ByteDance suspended the operation of hit global app TikTok in the city.
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The number of monthly active users (MAUs) of Douyin in Hong Kong has already surpassed 3 million, according to a report on Tuesday by Guangzhou-based newspaper Southern Metropolitan Daily. That marked a nearly 150 per cent MAU growth from the end of 2022.
Beijing-based ByteDance did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
The world’s most valuable unicorn decided to pull TikTok out of Hong Kong in July 2020, days after a sweeping national security law went into effect in the city. Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, was launched in 2016 and has gained users in Hong Kong since TikTok became locally unavailable.
The high adoption rate of Douyin in Hong Kong reflects a broader trend among China’s Big Tech companies – including Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings – to widen their local presence as part of efforts to expand beyond the mainland market. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
Tencent’s payments platform WeChat Pay, for example, saw total transaction volume in Hong Kong double during last month’s five-day Labour Day holiday, compared to a year ago.