Tech giant PDD Holdings (Pinduoduo and Temu), moves headquarters from China to Ireland

PDD Holdings, the parent firm of e-commerce sites Temu and Pinduoduo, moved its headquarters from China to Ireland, underscoring the Chinese tech giant’s international push, CNBC says.

The company listed Dublin as its “chief executive office” in a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Previously, the company listed Shanghai as its main office.

PDD Holdings started off as Pinduoduo, the fast-growing discount e-commerce firm in China.  It rebranded this year to PDD Holdings, creating a parent company for Pinduoduo and Temu, its international e-commerce effort.

The move to Ireland may signal PDD’s attempt to boost its international presence.

As for Temu, it was quietly launched last year. The company is trying to replicate the success of Chinese fast fashion brand Shein and potentially also challenge companies like Amazon with their wide range of cheap goods.

PDD has made a big marketing push with Temu in the U.S. and even bought an ad spot at this year’s Super Bowl, which often go for millions of dollars.

Temu’s app has been installed more than 50 million times since its launch in September 2022, according to Apptopia. In comparison, it took Shein about three years to cross this mark.

Gross merchandise value, which is the total amount transacted across Temu’s platform, rose from $3 million in September to $387 million in March, according to market research firm YipitData.

Ireland is a popular location for foreign technology companies to set up shop due to its membership in the European Union and low headline corporation tax rate of 12.5%. Meta and Apple are among a number of U.S. tech giants with European headquarters in Ireland.