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The popular video-sharing app, though, is attempting to harness the power of its user base. Chew said Thursday that the app generates more than 325 million visitors in Southeast Asia each month. And the research group Insider Intelligence expects its user base in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines to increase by more than 10% this year.

TikTok did not provide a detailed breakdown of how it plans to spend its investments. But Chew said the company would provide training and support to small and medium-sized businesses. He also said TikTok will help “drive youth entrepreneurship” in partnership with Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN -- an organization of 10 member states in Southeast Asia.