Ha Noi had topped the Viet Nam e-Business Index (EBI) 2014 with 72.6 points out of 100 perfect points. — Photo vietnamnet

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — A recent report by the Viet Nam e-Commerce Association (VECOM) revealed growing disparity in e-commerce development among provinces and cities, and urged the Government to implement policies that boost development.

Ha Noi had topped the Viet Nam e-Business Index (EBI) 2014 with 72.6 points out of 100 perfect points.

The index was based on e-commerce application at about 3,500 enterprises throughout the country with four criteria: human resources and information technology infrastructure, transactions between firms and clients, transactions among enterprises and online public services.

The capital city was followed by HCM City, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Khanh Hoa, Can Tho and Nghe An. The northern mountainous province of Lao Cai was placed at the bottom of the list.

The report pointed out that the average EBI was 56.5 points, nearly a point higher than the previous year, reflecting the expansion of e-commerce in business.

However, there were huge gaps among localities, in terms of e-commerce application, as well as readiness for e-commerce, especially between the country's two major cities and other provinces, the association's General Secretary, Nguyen Thanh Hung, stated.

The average point among the top five localities was 68.3 in comparison with 48.0 points for the five lower most localities.

Hung said mobile platforms contributed largely to the development of e-commerce, with 10 per cent of the surveyed firms admitting to the use of mobile applications for their business and 15 per cent having mobile versions for their websites.

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.

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

In addition, consumers' interests must be protected better. The report found that more than 80 per cent of the customers were worried about product quality when buying online.

A survey by the Department of e-Commerce and Information Technology under the Ministry of Industry and Trade revealed that more than 42 per cent of the consumers were also apprehensive about the security of their personal information while shopping online.

Hung said the Government should formulate policies to develop human resources and infrastructure for the development of e-commerce, and predicted an e-commerce boom going forward. — VNS