The company's meteoric rise is all the more remarkable given that its journey has been far from smooth sailing. As well as having to deal with increased scrutiny at home, the Beijing-based firm has been accused by overseas parties of harvesting personal data for the Chinese state.

As a result, TikTok is under investigation in the US and narrowly escaped being banned from the Apple and Google app stores. In the past, it's also been outlawed in several countries, including India and Indonesia.

Adding to its woes are reports of exhausted staff, with The Wall Street Journal reporting earlier in 2022 that TikTok employees have complained about working 85-hour weeks. The social platform has also struggled to retain foreign talent.

Chinese companies expanding overseas