HCM City topped the index with 73.3 points out of 100 points, followed by Ha Noi with 72 points, Da Nang 62.2 points, Binh Duong 55 points and Hai Phong 54.4 points. — Photo vietstock.vn

HA NOI (VNS)— The 2015 Viet Nam e-Business Index (EBI) report revealed a great disparity in e-commerce development among localities.

The statement was affirmed by Chief of the Office of the Viet Nam e-Commerce Association (VECOM) Nguyen Ky Minh at the ceremony announcing the report in Ha Noi yesterday.

HCM City topped the index with 73.3 points out of 100 points, followed by Ha Noi with 72 points, Da Nang 62.2 points, Binh Duong 55 points and Hai Phong 54.4 points.

The gap between the average points of the five provinces with lowest points with the five provinces with highest points was 30.5 points, higher than that of 2013 and 2014.

The 2015 EBI was based on the application of e-commerce among 5,000 enterprises throughout the country. The number of participants increased nearly 50 per cent compared to 2014.

The index was based on four criteria: information technology infrastructure and human resources, transactions between businesses and customers (B2C), transactions between businesses and businesses (B2B) and transactions between businesses and state agencies (G2B).

The report showed e-commerce enjoyed a rapid growth last year in all business sectors, supported greatly by information technology and telecommunication.

"E-commerce has contributed to the building of an economic information society in Viet Nam, as some of the country's leading e-commerce enterprises' growth rates stood at over 200 per cent last year," he added.

VECOM's General Secretary Nguyen Thanh Hung highly valued the index which represented significant progress in online transactions between State offices and enterprises.

Hung said mobile phone platforms contributed largely to the development of e-commerce, with 26 per cent of the surveyed firms having mobile versions for their websites and 18 per cent using mobile applications for their business.

Social networks are also becoming a platform for the development of e-commerce, with 24 per cent of the firms saying they do business via social networks and 16 per cent revealing that their efficiency had improved as a result.

Based on the 2015 EBI, the VECOM said the country's e-commerce was turning to the third phase – the rapid development phase.

The two previous phases are the forming phase which lasted from 1998 to 2005 and popularising phase from 2006 to 2015.

The report also pointed out that delivery services needed to be improved.

Chairman of the Viet Nam Internet Association Vu Hoang Lien stressed that consumer interests must be protected better.

Lien acknowledged that the report found that up to 42 per cent of consumers were apprehensive about the security of their personal information while shopping online, while 81 per cent of customers were worried about product quality when buying online.

Therefore, most e-commerce enterprises had introduced customer information protection policies.

In addition, consumers could also protect themselves by checking a website's information via website online.gov.vn before purchasing an item. — VNS