E-commerce platforms such as Amazon are effective channels to help Vietnamese SMEs export their goods. — VNS Photo

Amazon has established a subsidiary in Viet Nam, Head of Amazon Global Selling Vietnam Tran Xuan Thuy told media at the Viet Nam Online Marketing Forum on Wednesday.

This was the first official announcement of the subsidiary.

Amazon officially entered the Vietnamese market in March last year. The US e-commerce giant has co-operated with the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) on many programmes to enable local businesses to sell goods on its platform to expand their export potential.

Amazon’s representative said the company had long encouraged individuals to sell goods on the marketplace but now the trend was changing. Amazon was gearing up to help small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) do business on its e-commerce platform.

Before working for Amazon Vietnam, Thuy spent eight years with Alibaba Group in the position of Country Manager. According to his description on Linkedln, he also served as vice president in charge of seller operation for Lazada Group for more than one year.

Alibaba and Amazon, both e-commerce giants, are taking steps to attract Vietnamese businesses to their platforms. Experts have said e-commerce is an effective channel to help Vietnamese SMEs export their goods.

Viet Nam’s trade office in Houston, the United States, has provided detailed instruction for Vietnamese SMEs on how to take advantage of e-commerce to increase exports to the US.

According to data provided by the trade office, US customers spent US$517.3 billion online in 2018, with the number continuing to rise every year. — VNS