Develop e-commerce to reach top 3 in Southeast Asia

It is forecasted that by 2025, the scale of Vietnam's e-commerce sector will reach US$43 billion. Photo: Internet

With the advantages of a young population as well as a large proportion of smartphone users and large number of e-commerce transactions on smartphones, the e-commerce market in Vietnam is growing rapidly.

According to the Department of E-Commerce and Digital Economy (Ministry of Industry and Trade), Vietnam's e-commerce growth is impressive in 2020 with an increase of 18% and market size of US$11.8 billion, accounting for 5.5% of total retail sales of consumer goods and services nationwide. Vietnam is also the only country in the Southeast Asia witha double-digit e-commerce growth rate.

In addition to the benefits that e-commerce brings such as helping businesses expand markets, reduce costs, increase profits, and pay quickly, the Ministry of Industry and Trade assesses that there are still many limitations on online markets such as counterfeit goods, contraband goods and those infringing intellectual property rights.

In addition, e-commerce activities have foreign elements arising in many forms; disputes with partners in e-commerce, especially emerging social networks, are common.

"The violations in e-commerce are increasingly complicated, making consumers more concerned about buying and paying online,” said the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

According to the National master plan on e-commerce development for the 2021 – 2025 period, the Government sets goals to 2025, including: supporting and promoting the widespread application of e-commerce in businesses and the community; building a healthy, competitive and sustainable e-commerce market.

Expand consumption markets for Vietnamese goods at home and abroad through e-commerce application; promote cross-border transactions and e-commerce; become a country with a developed e-commerce market in the group of three leading countries in Southeast Asia.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has directed the Department of E-Commerce and Digital Economy with the function of state management of e-commerce to continue researching and proposing groups of solutions to achieve the above objectives.

Firstly, perfecting the legal framework. E-commerce is a very specific field, which is the combination of technology and market, between real and virtual factors, between existing entities in the digital space. Therefore, the legal framework is continuing to be finalized.

The current legal framework for e-commerce includes: Law on Commerce, Law on Electronic Transactions, Decree 52/2013/ND-CP on e-commerce and a number of other decrees related to fields in e-commerce activities such as the Decree 165/2018/ND-CP on electronic transactions in financial activities, Decree No. 130/2018/ND-CP detailing the implementation of the Law on Electronic transactions of digital signatures and authentication of digital signatures, andDecree 119/2018/ND-CP regulations on electronic invoices.

Secondly, building programs, policies and solutions to encourage e-commerce website's credit rating; complete the e-commerce credit system.

In the next five years, besides building e-commerce website credit rating programs and policies, the solution on "E-commerce credit system" is a tool to evaluate e-commerce businesses. This credit rating will be publicly available to consumers.

This year, the Department of E-Commerce and Digital Economy will implement the GoOnline Program, with the task of accompanying businesses in the e-commerce application process from the beginning in the online environment.

The program is accompanied by the largest telecommunication and technology groups, and e-commerce systems in the country, targeting manufacturers, businesses and individuals nationwide who want to access and apply e-commerce, especially in emergency situations such as the pandemic and commodities that need "rescuinng". The program also forms a well-connected coalition to carry out support work.

Solution groups are given such as: Deploying business support programs on the e-commerce floor; delivery cost support program; safety delivery labeling program; financial support for businesses when participating in e-commerce floors; building a reputable Vietnamese product distributor and launching theGoOnline program promotion.