1. The following excerpts are taken from Frank Chen's news report in the South China Morning Post, dated 21 September 2025:
(Begin excerpts)
The White House claimed on Saturday that the US operations of TikTok will be spun off, its board will be mostly Americans and its algorithm will be controlled in the US....
The US unit of TikTok will be majority-owned and controlled by American investors under the deal to separate from its Chinese owner, ByteDance, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Saturday.
Leavitt explained that six of the seven board seats on TikTok’s board will be occupied by Americans, adding that the final deal would be signed in the coming days.....
Citing people familiar with the situation, Bloomberg has reported that ByteDance would hold no more than 20 per cent of TikTok under the proposed agreement, with new investors including Oracle Corp, Andreessen Horowitz and private equity firm Silver Lake Management LLC.... (End excerpts)
Source Link: https://www.scmp.com/news/world/uni...l-gives-americans-6-7-board-seats-white-house
2. Poster's comment:
(a) One of the tactics of "The Art of the Deal" is repeating a lie till it becomes a reality. Just citing a recent example: the US leader claims credit for the India-Pakistan ceasefire, but his Indian counterpart is vehement in his denial of the claim.
If the unconfirmed TikTok deal is true, ByteDance will get less than 20 per cent profit from its US business. Its US representative should either absent himself or fall asleep during the board meeting. Make sure when he sleeps, he will really be fast asleep, otherwise his ears could be bombarded with jokes and insults about his symbolic representation at the board meeting.
After some years, America may feel that its TikTok's business can remain sustainable and profitable without ByteDance's "secret sauce". Then it will be the ripe time for the US to order the ByteDance representative to pack up and vacate its single boardroom seat together with the "secret sauce" -- just like the case of kicking Russia out of G8.
(b) America's TikTok deal may have unintended consequences. Many other countries may follow the US example, either threatening to ban TikTok or force it to divest its business to local investors. Neither the US companies are safe with their overseas investments from their government's blatant action. China and other countries could also follow Uncle Sam's footsteps. Investments will come to a standstill worldwide as no companies dare to invest abroad.
Then what is the best deal for TikTok? In my opinion, ByteDance should sell off TikTok's data and algorithm or "secret sauce" at a hefty price that will take the US investors at least fifty years to recuperate their capital.
Additional Reference:
www.nbcnews.com
www.channelnewsasia.com
indianexpress.com
en.wikipedia.org
(Begin excerpts)
The White House claimed on Saturday that the US operations of TikTok will be spun off, its board will be mostly Americans and its algorithm will be controlled in the US....
The US unit of TikTok will be majority-owned and controlled by American investors under the deal to separate from its Chinese owner, ByteDance, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Saturday.
Leavitt explained that six of the seven board seats on TikTok’s board will be occupied by Americans, adding that the final deal would be signed in the coming days.....
Citing people familiar with the situation, Bloomberg has reported that ByteDance would hold no more than 20 per cent of TikTok under the proposed agreement, with new investors including Oracle Corp, Andreessen Horowitz and private equity firm Silver Lake Management LLC.... (End excerpts)
Source Link: https://www.scmp.com/news/world/uni...l-gives-americans-6-7-board-seats-white-house
2. Poster's comment:
(a) One of the tactics of "The Art of the Deal" is repeating a lie till it becomes a reality. Just citing a recent example: the US leader claims credit for the India-Pakistan ceasefire, but his Indian counterpart is vehement in his denial of the claim.
If the unconfirmed TikTok deal is true, ByteDance will get less than 20 per cent profit from its US business. Its US representative should either absent himself or fall asleep during the board meeting. Make sure when he sleeps, he will really be fast asleep, otherwise his ears could be bombarded with jokes and insults about his symbolic representation at the board meeting.
After some years, America may feel that its TikTok's business can remain sustainable and profitable without ByteDance's "secret sauce". Then it will be the ripe time for the US to order the ByteDance representative to pack up and vacate its single boardroom seat together with the "secret sauce" -- just like the case of kicking Russia out of G8.
(b) America's TikTok deal may have unintended consequences. Many other countries may follow the US example, either threatening to ban TikTok or force it to divest its business to local investors. Neither the US companies are safe with their overseas investments from their government's blatant action. China and other countries could also follow Uncle Sam's footsteps. Investments will come to a standstill worldwide as no companies dare to invest abroad.
Then what is the best deal for TikTok? In my opinion, ByteDance should sell off TikTok's data and algorithm or "secret sauce" at a hefty price that will take the US investors at least fifty years to recuperate their capital.
Additional Reference:
White House says TikTok's algorithm and data will be controlled 'by America' in new deal
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she was "100% confident" the deal between the U.S. and China is finalized.
www.nbcnews.com
Commentary: TikTok deal would be a major win for Trump, but not in the way you might expect
There’s still no confirmed TikTok deal after a much-hyped phone call between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. But there are concerns beyond national security now, says NTU’s Mark Cenite.
Trump claims credit for India-Pakistan ceasefire again, says he deserves Nobel Prize for ‘ending seven wars’
Speaking at the American Cornerstone Institute Founder's Dinner on Saturday, Trump said, “Think of India and Pakistan... And you know how I stopped that – with trade."
indianexpress.com
The Art of the Deal - Wikipedia
Last edited:
