TikTok forms new American company to keep the app alive in the U.S.

Short video-sharing platform TikTok has signed agreements with some major investors including Oracle to create a joint venture to keep the app alive in the US. The shares retained by its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance are now down to 19.9 percent.

Beijing's Foreign Ministry said "China's position on TikTok has been consistent and clear".

It is reported that TikTok finalised agreements with Oracle, Silver Lake, and the Emirati investment firm MGX, among other investors, to sell its US operations to the majority American-owned entity: TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC.

The done deal was to skirt the looming threat of a ban that has been in discussion for years on the social media firm. American users can still use the same app.

TikTok said in a statement on Thursday that the new version will operate under "defined safeguards that protect national security through comprehensive data protections, algorithm security, content moderation and software assurances for US users."

Oracle is expected to run the system that stores US user data, and the app's content recommendation formula will also be retrained, tested and updated in the U.S.

According to the deal, the investment consortium will have 50 percent of the new venture, with Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX each holding 15 percent. ByteDance, which retains a 19.9 percent stake, remains as the largest single shareholder.

The joint venture will be governed by a seven-member board including TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.