"On the flip side, it's a good selling opportunity for Susquehanna because we've seen the worst of the crackdown with Alibaba and Meituan," Ke said. "The market's positive reaction to their fines suggest that punishment from the regulators have so far been acceptable." The government quietly appointed a director to the board of ByteDance's key domestic subsidiary several months ago, an unusual arrangement that offers Beijing more sway and insight into the company. In May, billionaire founder Zhang made a surprise move to step down as ByteDance's chief executive officer, instead focusing on longer-term strategy. The company is in the search of its next blockbuster app after Toutiao and TikTok, along with its Chinese twin video service Douyin. The internet titan has ventured into new arenas from e-commerce to mobile gaming and virtual reality, with mixed success.