E commerce – Talk Vietnam

May 4, 2021 by vov.vn Leave a Comment

How to optimise FTAs to achieve economic growth through e-commerce

The nation’s trade balance of goods during the first quarter of the year stood at an estimated US$2.03 billion in trade surplus, with export turnover reaching a sum of US$77.34 billion.

This comes as export speed has surpassed several major economies throughout Asia, such as Singapore, Thailand, the Republic of Korea, in addition to Europe. A number of impressive figures relating to export growth indicate that Vietnamese enterprises have made initial approaches and moved to take full advantage of the opportunities from new generation FTAs.

These trade deals are the ideal tools which can turn opportunities into a fresh driving force behind the development of the national economy as they can open up competition to many service industries, thereby attracting greater investment whilst revamping institutions for the purpose of sustainable development.

The impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has served to disrupt global supply chains and promote non-traditional sectors, including e-commerce, which is seen as an effective solution in dealing with the disruption of supply and demand to the local economy. Making use of e-commerce platforms by capitalising upon opportunities offered by the FTAs provides Vietnamese businesses with a digital platform which they can utilise in order to achieve more effective market penetration.

As a means of strongly developing e-commerce moving forward, as well as making effective use of FTAs through digital commerce platforms, the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has completed a national database on Vietnamese firms. This holds a profile of domestic enterprises and is viewed as a reliable source of reference and appraisal data for state management agencies, along with international trading partners.

The purpose of the database is to build confidence among international trading partners in both Vietnamese branded products and services, a move which can help to improve the competitiveness of businesses.

Several economic experts state that the requirement for local enterprises is to be transparent and digitise their operations. Along with this, it remains necessary to develop a full, detailed, and specific sales policy. This should be done alongside learning and fully grasping the rules of e-commerce platforms regarding delivery, payment, and all forms in terms of quality assurance, traceability, and an understanding of international trade practices to minimise potential risks of economic damage.

MoIT statistics reveal that Vietnamese e-commerce last year grew by 18% to more than US$11 billion. Major global groups such as Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company forecast that with a growth rate of 29% throughout the 2020 to 2025 period, the size of the Vietnamese digital economy is likely to exceed US$52 billion and will be the third largest in ASEAN by 2025.

May 4, 2021 by vov.vn Leave a Comment

Hai Duong lychees to be launched on four major e-commerce floors

Hai Duong province is home to a lychee growing area spanning 9,186 ha, of which 1,000 ha are certified in line with VietGAP standards, while 520 ha of lychees have been grown in line with GlobalGAP standards.

Most notably, Thanh Ha district features 17 cultivation regions that were granted area codes for exports to the United States, Australia, the EU, Japan, and Singapore.

As a means of improving the quality of lychees for export, Hai Duong province has given priority to initiating training courses on technological transfer to farmers and conducting strict surveillance over planting areas in an effort to improve the product quality, while simultaneously boosting trade promotional activities.

As a means of helping domestic businesses penetrate these demanding markets, local authorities have worked alongside fruit exporters Rong Do Production – Trading – Service Co., Ltd with the intention to purchase 300 tonnes of lychee. In addition, Ameii Vietnam Joint Stock Company have initiated plans to buy 300 tonnes for export to Japan, Australia, Malaysia, the Middle East, and the EU.

Most notably, the Hai Duong Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is in the process of co-operating with the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency in order to continue the procedures which will serve to introduce Hai Duong lychees to the four e-commerce floors, including Alibaba.com, Voso.vn, Sendo.vn, and Lazada.vn.

The schedule is for Hai Duong lychees to go on official sale from May 15 through these e-commerce platforms.

This will also be the first year that the locality has deployed the consumption of lychees through e-commerce floors.

Furthermore, the lychee festival aims to introduce the locality’s major agricultural products, with the event anticipated to be held in early June.

The Hai Duong Department of Industry and Trade has revealed that that since 2015, Hai Duong lychee products have made inroads into markets such as the US, Australia, France, Canada, Singapore, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and some European nations.

May 4, 2021 by www.vir.com.vn Leave a Comment

Shopee pulling ahead in e-commerce blitz

The fierce e-commerce market in Vietnam and the wider region Southeast Asia has swayed towards Tencent’s Shopee in recent times after it overtook Alibaba-backed Lazada outside of China.

More deals are being carried out now on Shopee compared to Lazada, with its gross merchandise volume in 2020 hitting $35.4 billion, greatly helped by the exploding adoption of online shopping after the pandemic persuaded more people to remain home for longer periods of time.

Shopee, established only five years ago, claims in its latest financial report that about 57 per cent of ASEAN goods sold online and related transactions last year were through its platform and courier networks.

The remarkable growth of Shopee has helped Tencent chip away at Alibaba’s base in the pair’s largest overseas market, where the 600 million combined ASEAN market means huge opportunities are still ahead. Asia Times reported last month that Shopee’s ability to pull ahead of the competition was partly helped by boardroom tussles at Lazada and the lengthy Alibaba takeover.

Its traffic in Vietnam is also overwhelming rivals Lazada, Tiki, and Sendo. According to e-commerce aggregator iPrice Group from Kuala Lumpur, traffic of Shopee Vietnam improved significantly during 2019-2020, remaining top of the rankings and attracting a huge number of visits.

While the gap of traffic between Shopee and remaining players was around 5-10 million per month in 2019 (between 34.6 million visits for Shopee and 24.4 million for Lazada in the last quarter of 2019), the gap increased significantly to between 46-57 million in the last quarter of 2020. Specifically, Shopee Vietnam reported 68.6 million visits monthly, with Tiki on 22.3 million, Lazada 20.8 million, and Sendo 11.2 million.

Chinese investment and massive media campaigns are playing a massive part in the success of the e-commerce giants. For example, with Tencent’s backing, Shopee had the financial wherewithal to burn through funding to offer free or cheap courier services to buyers, not just in Vietnam but elsewhere. Besides this, Shopee is frequently seen on eye-catching adverts across various media featuring the presence of Asian celebrities such as K-pop group Blackpink.

Behind the scenes there is also plenty of jockeying for power. Shopee carries out the practice of requesting that vendors sign an exclusive agreement.

Shopee in the past has sent vouchers valued at hundreds of dollars to some sellers, allegedly attached by the only condition that they must close their shop on Lazada during the biggest e-commerce sales events in Asia such as Super Shopping Day in September. This platform is said to provide this exclusive agreement in all three regional leading markets of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

Lazada meanwhile proposes a similar exclusive priority seller package including pick-up service, free shipping cashback programme, free assortment uploading service, and traffic and campaign exposure among others.

Shopee previously sent messages to sellers regarding penalties if they violated any exclusive agreement, including seizing sellers’ benefits, removing shipping discounts or free shipping codes, and prohibited from participating in marketing campaigns. The company has since clarified that this practice is no longer used.

The pressure is on for these companies to keep costs low in order to survive and thrive in the bustling e-commerce sphere.

In the case of Shopee in the fourth quarter of 2020, its revenue from e-commerce and other services and sales of goods was $873.2 million, while all costs for e-commerce, other services, goods sold, sales, and marketing expenses were $1.69 billion, making $817 million of losses in the quarter, much bigger than the on-year loss of $561 million.

In the Southeast Asian region, Shopee leads the e-commerce scene by active users, while Lazada remains firmly entrenched as the number-two player.

In Vietnam, the shares of active users in the first quarter of 2021 are 36.9 and 31.8 per cent respectively, followed by Tiki and Sendo with a proportion of 18.8 and 10.5 per cent, respectively.

By Nguyen Huong

May 5, 2021 by www.vir.com.vn Leave a Comment

Tech-led foundation crucial in e-commerce

The government recently promulgated a masterplan on e-commerce development in Vietnam for the 2021-2025 period. Could you offer more details on what the plan means for the current development of e-commerce?

Dang Hoang Hai, director of the Vietnam e-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade

The national e-commerce master plan serves as a macro-oriented policy document and acts as a compass for future advancement that has to be closely linked with strategies and policies on participating in Industry 4.0.

Under that, it set targets for e-commerce that 55 per cent of the population will do online shopping by 2025, with average consumer spending rising to $600 by 2025, from $200 in 2018.

Besides enhancing Vietnam e-commerce’s scale with desired targets, it added targets for infrastructure of ancillary services, the application of e-commerce in enterprises, a human resources development plan, and e-commerce development among economic regions.

Along with targets are general solutions, requiring cooperation with related ministries, authorities, and provinces nationwide to develop all aspects of e-commerce and support services.

Under the masterplan, it sets a non-cash payment target to reach 50 per cent, in which payment made through intermediary service providers will hit 80 per cent. Will this target be hard to reach?

Promoting e-payments towards a cashless society is an indispensable development which boosts economic growth and supports universalisation of banking and financial services.

The government already approved a scheme to intensify payment for public services via banks, including tax, electricity, water, hospital, and education fees. The scheme also targets non-cash payments being accepted by 70 per cent of electricity companies, 70 per cent of water companies, 100 per cent of universities and colleges, and 50 per cent of hospitals in major cities.

Electronic invoices are a solution that brings many benefits for businesses and regulators. The transition from using paper to electronic invoices is an inevitable requirement of a modern and transparent trading system. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) believes that this is not a difficult goal to achieve.

Although e-commerce development is blooming, customers remain concerned about product and service quality; thus the rate of cash-on-delivery payments is still a significant part of the Vietnamese online shopping market. How can this rate be reduced?

Although the non-cash payment infrastructure has been completed and always ready to serve, consumers still lack confidence when buying on websites and apps, and there are still many shortcomings. Thus, in order to increase consumer confidence and legal issues, there is a plan for that.

For instance, in 2020 the MoIT was assigned to act as the focal point in developing a decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No.52/2013/ND-CP from 2013 on e-commerce. The draft provides for stricter control over operations of e-commerce companies and foreign investment in the sector in Vietnam, including new conditions for foreign investment and stricter requirements on operators of e-commerce platforms in order to strengthen responsibility of owners as well as information and origin of goods.

Last year, the Vietnam Directorate of Market Surveillance under the MoIT established a taskforce in charge of e-commerce. This is a new point showing the determination to fight against smuggling, counterfeiting, unknown origin, and intellectual property rights violations.

What are the main obstacles preventing enterprises from applying technology in e-commerce activities?

Generally the application of e-commerce has been popularised in businesses, but the difficulties they have still focus on creating trust and attracting buyers.

Statistics from the MoIT show that up to 50 per cent of enterprises encounter this obstacle when applying e-commerce in business activities. Moreover, the competition of e-commerce businesses is also increasing, and many businesses attract and create trust for users by implementing their own policies.

On the other hand, businesses must also implement innovative measures in technology, create their own characteristics, and improve competitiveness. Businesses in this sector that want to achieve growth must be built on a good technology foundation.

By Nguyen Thu

May 5, 2021 by e.vnexpress.net Leave a Comment

Disputes keep pace with e-commerce growth

The e-commerce market grew by 16 percent to $14 billion in 2020, and is expected to be worth $52 billion by 2025, according to a report by Google.

The number of disputes is also growing rapidly, with 24.4 percent of sellers embroiled in disputes last year, a survey by the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) found.

The Vietnam E-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency said it handled over 250 cases of e-commerce violations last year like unregistered websites, selling low-quality products and assuming false business identities to cheat consumers.

Besides, e-commerce platforms took down over 17,400 online stores and 34,600 products in the first five months of 2020, according to the agency.

Nguyen Anh Duong, head of the general research department at CIEM, said though e-commerce platforms have procedures for receiving customer complaints and settling disputes, they can only handle sellers’ violations by closing the stores and cannot to make them compensate customers they cheated.

Experts said the demand for an online dispute resolution (ODR) system in e-commerce is growing since many enterprises and individuals do business online.

But Vietnam lacks a clear legal framework for the ODR, and experts said it is needed immediately so that an ODR system could be deployed.

May 6, 2021 by en.vietnamplus.vn Leave a Comment

Pushing agricultural product consumption through e-commerce

The use of livestreaming to sell agriculture produce is quite a new concept and only recently applied in Son La province. Here, an influencer with a huge number of followers introduces plums to boost consumption of the local specialty. The effort is the result of coordination between a number of individuals, organisations, and local authorities to provide support to the promotion and consumption of local plums.

One hour of livestreaming attracted more than 500,000 views, and after two days the number had increased to more than 3 million, with a total of 20 tonnes of plums sold. Online sales have contributed to promoting the Tam Hoa plum brand among many more people throughout the entire country.

Tam Hoa plums are a high yield crop, and in recent years there have been many localities planting the variety as their main crop. But due to a lack of communications and promotional efforts, they were still mostly consumed locally or in neighbouring areas. To remove the obstacles, the local government established a campaign committee to support the promotion and consumption of plums and of agricultural products in general through social networks and e-commerce sites.

Selling goods online and through e-commerce sites has many benefits, but quality must be ensured when products reach consumers. In order to guarantee the fair sale and uniform quality of agricultural products, authorities at all levels in Son La have created specific lists, giving priority to households that do not use fertilisers or chemical pesticides in the growing process./.

VNA