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On Nikkei Asian Review No.13: Mesmerized

Inside ByteDance, the $75bn unicorn behind TikTok

Fabian Ouwehand was an early convert to Douyin. While studying Chinese in Shenzhen in 2017, Ouwehand, from Leiden in the Netherlands, saw brash advertisements for the video-sharing social network flooding the city. He was convinced to try it.

As soon as one video finished, the app would suggest another. The recommendations were so effective, he recalled, that time vanished; he clicked and clicked, and could easily lose half an hour at once. "I got hooked after watching it for the first few seconds, and just wanted to know what happened next," he said.

Three years later, Douyin is not just entertainment, but his business. At 26, Ouwehand is the co-founder of Uplab, an online marketing agency that helps international brands reach Chinese consumers through the now-stunningly popular social network. Each day, 400 million people -- the equivalent of the entire population of the U.S. and Canada -- watch or create videos on the app, according to its owner, ByteDance. Ouwehand himself plans to ramp up employee numbers from three to 30 this year, looking to piggyback on Douyin's extraordinary growth.

Douyin's international version, TikTok, is the third-most downloaded nongame app in the world, behind only WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. It has suddenly become a global cultural phenomenon; downloaded 1.57 billion times, nearly half of those -- 689 million -- occurred in 2019. And its privately owned parent, ByteDance, is considered the world's most valuable startup. CB Insights estimates it is worth more than $75 billion, just over eight years since it was founded in a four-bedroom apartment in Beijing. But for all its size -- and its app's ubiquity -- the company remains something of a black box.

Its founder, Zhang Yiming, rarely gives interviews or speaks in public. Few industry analysts have visited the company, and workers are prohibited from speaking with journalists without permission. Violation of the rule would mean dismissal, two employees told the Nikkei Asian Review, before turning down requests for interview.

Korean Air's family feud opens door to activist challenge

Like the heads of many airlines, Korean Air Lines Chairman Cho Won-tae is fighting to keep his company afloat as the coronavirus and travel restrictions batter the aviation industry. Unlike most of his peers, Cho is doing this while trying to fend off a coup by his own sister.

The family feud is expected to come to a head at the general shareholder meeting of Hanjin-KAL, the airline's holding company, on March 27. The two siblings and their respective allies have roughly equal stakes, and are continuing to try to strengthen their positions, even as the outlook for airlines around the world continues to darken.

In his 11-month tenure, Chairman Cho has already had to steer KAL through challenges from budget carriers and a sharp drop in demand from Japan, a key market, due to political tensions. Now the coronavirus outbreak -- which has forced the airline to ground 80% of its fleet as the aviation market collapses -- is pushing many airlines to the brink.

Aviation consultancy CAPA predicts that without government support, most airlines will be bankrupt by the end May.

Cho's other challenge comes from his older sister Cho Hyun-ah, who has teamed up with local activist fund Korea Corporate Governance Improvement to demand he step down to take responsibility for the airlines' poor earnings and high debt.

Flu fighter Avigan gets coronavirus call after 30 years in bullpen

Three days after Beijing endorsed the Japan-developed flu drug Avigan as a treatment for COVID-19, Indonesia is importing millions of doses to treat its patients, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said during a live-streamed press briefing from the Presidential Palace on Friday.

"No antivirus has been found. But some drugs have been tried in several countries and caused recovery -- namely Avigan," Jokowi said. "We have imported 5,000 doses, and are in the process of ordering 2 million more."

Avigan, the antiviral drug developed in Japan, has suddenly drawn global attention after Chinese medical authorities suggested it was effective in treating the new coronavirus.

But behind its rise is a three-decade struggle marked by twists and turns, according to interviews with people involved in its development. That history may be both a blessing and a curse for its producer, Toyama Chemical, as it joins the global race to find a cure for coronavirus.

Check out more at: https://asia.nikkei.com/Print-Edition/Issue-2020-03-26

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