TikTok to Invest $980M in Vietnam to Bolster Southeast Asian Logistics Network

[Ebrun Original] As of September 11, TikTok is ramping up its expansion into Vietnam’s logistics sector.

According to a statement from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Finance, TikTok’s Singapore-registered affiliate Tokgistic Pte. Ltd. will invest $980 million to develop the Swift Logistics project in Ho Chi Minh City. The department granted Tokgistic an investment registration certificate on September 7.

The Swift Logistics project has a planned operational tenure of 50 years and is scheduled to launch operations this November. Tokgistic will inject an initial $196 million, accounting for 20% of the registered capital, with the remaining funds to be disbursed in subsequent phases.

Per registration filings, Swift Logistics’ business scope covers postal services, delivery, market research, management consulting and other related areas. Specifically, Swift Logistics will sign contracts directly with clients for postal services, while last-mile delivery and hands-on logistics operations will be outsourced to third-party service providers.

This indicates that TikTok’s latest play does not rely on a heavy-asset model of fully self-built warehouses and delivery fleets. Instead, the platform is poised to retain control over merchant, consumer and transaction data, while outsourcing concrete fulfillment operations to third-party logistics (3PL) firms.

Swift Logistics forms part of TikTok’s broader integrated push across logistics, payments and digital commerce in Vietnam.

Back in November 2025, TikTok discussed relevant investment plans with the Ho Chi Minh City municipal government, proposing to establish three local entities focusing on logistics, digital payments and digital commerce respectively, and planning to forge ties with the Vietnam International Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City.

TikTok previously noted that its planned logistics operations in Vietnam are designed to process 1 billion to 2 billion orders annually in the long run.

Across the Southeast Asian market, this is not TikTok’s first attempt to build a logistics system via a relatively asset-light approach.

After acquiring GoTo’s e-commerce business, TikTok also gained access to relevant assets and capabilities of GoTo Logistics (GTL). However, in August 2025, TikTok Shop Indonesia shut down its self-operated warehousing and fulfillment business, shifting warehouse operations back to third-party providers. Currently, its in-house last-mile delivery team only covers around 5% of orders, while J&T Express handles approximately 80% of its order volume. TikTok also plans to keep adding delivery stations and expand partnerships with third-party logistics service providers.

The latest logistics investment in Vietnam comes against the backdrop of intensifying competition in Southeast Asia’s e-commerce logistics space.

Sea Group, parent company of Shopee, has built out its SPX Express logistics network across multiple Southeast Asian markets; Alibaba-backed Lazada has made long-term investments in its in-house Lazada Logistics arm. Meanwhile, J&T Express, Ninja Van and other independent logistics players are also continuing expansion, vying for regional market share by serving multiple e-commerce platforms and merchants.

As Southeast Asia’s e-commerce market scales up, logistics is emerging as a critical battleground for platform competition. For e-commerce platforms, factors such as delivery speed, fulfillment reliability, returns processing and order management efficiency directly impact consumer experience and merchant performance.

Compared to peers like Shopee and Lazada that continue to build out proprietary logistics networks, TikTok is currently leaning more toward combining its platform capabilities with third-party logistics resources in Southeast Asia.

Based on its current layout, TikTok is seeking to control merchandise flow, orders and data via its platform, while relying on partner logistics providers to complete last-mile delivery. This approach aims to cut the operational costs associated with building a full in-house logistics network, while strengthening oversight of delivery standards and fulfillment experience.

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This article was first published on the official website of Ebrun.