Vietnamese e-commerce has been exploding two decades after the internet first came to Viet Nam, said head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Department of E-Commerce and Economy Dang Hoang Hai.

The Viet Nam Online Business Forum (VOBF) 2018 opened in Ha Noi on Wednesday following last year’s success. Statistics showed that e-commerce has grown 25 per cent in the last year alone– among the world’s fastest growth rates. Hai hoped that the forum, with the participation of prestigious experts at home and abroad, would discuss new e-commerce trends, outstanding technologies and innovative business ideas.

The E-Business Index released by the Viet Nam E-Commerce Association (VECOM) showed that online retail and marketing, tourism and payment saw the most impressive growth. Online retail revenue increased by 35 per cent while shipping services revenue grew from 62 per cent to 200 per cent. The National Payment Corporation of Viet Nam reported that online transactions using domestic cards in the last year rose by nearly 50 per cent in volume and 75 per cent in value year-on-year. Several affiliated marketing companies posted 100-200 per cent growth.

According to the VECOM, the rate of room reservations via online travel agents increased by over 30 per cent annually, starting from 20 per cent in 2016. The growth helped online tourism earnings rise by more than 50 per cent. Dang Thuy Ha, Director of Consumer Behaviour Research at Nielsen Viet Nam, said nearly 4 billion people worldwide are forecast to be online by 2020.

Trends such as big data, virtual reality technology, the sharing economy and cashless payments will be increasingly popular. Revenue from the sharing economy is expected to near US$300 billion by 2025. There are 59 million Internet subscribers in Viet Nam now while 91 per cent of the population used smart phones. On average, the Vietnamese spend 25 hours per week on average on the Internet. The VOBF will also come to HCM City on Friday.

Make way for Amazon

In other e-commerce news, Amazon will take its first steps into the Vietnamese market starting next month.

Gijae Seong, global selling director of Amazon in Singapore, said at the VOBF 2018 that the online retail giant is building teams to develop markets in the Southeast Asian region, including Viet Nam. The company aims to help individuals and enterprises in Viet Nam access global customers.

He also said that Amazon will provide tools for Vietnamese firms to expand their trade ties with the world.

After the event, Amazon will co-operate with VECOM to organise training courses for retail individuals and enterprises in Viet Nam.

Nguyen Ngoc Dung, deputy chairman of VECOM, said that VECOM and Amazon will organise training courses, providing experiences, solutions, tools and experts for Vietnamese enterprises.

Amazon will provide documents for Vietnamese enterprises so that they can learn how to sell goods to the world via Amazon.

Within the frame of VOBF 2018, VECOM also provided information to help the start-up community gain knowledge of internet trading to join the global market. — VNS