Once operational, the Viet Nam National Pavillion on Chinese e-commerce platform JD.com will help Vietnamese products be distributed directly to consumers in the importing countries, said an official.

Dang Hoang Hai, head of the Viet Nam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency (VEDEA) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said at a press briefing in Ha Noi on Tuesday that this is the first Vietnamese pavilion on an international e-commerce platform which enables Vietnamese firms to provide their products to customers directly through trans-border e-commerce.

With the support of JD.com, Vietnamese products will be distributed in the Chinese market through an official and prestigious channel, he said.

Hai said that VEDEA will co-ordinate with domestic and foreign partners, including JD.com, Vinanutrifood, Viettel Post, VP Bank and Visa to set up the Viet Nam National Pavilion on the JD.com e-commerce platform.

The agency will help connect businesses and give them guidelines on distributing products on the pavilion in line with regulations of the platform and the law of the importing country. At the same time, it will also seek resources from partners to promote Vietnamese products and support local firms to smoothly distribute their products on the JD e-commerce platform, thus increasing exports to China.

He held that trans-border e-commerce will be the fastest channel to directly connect businesses and consumers, supporting the traditional distribution channel, and reducing costs for enterprises.

Meanwhile, Bui Huy Hoang, deputy director of the IT and Digital Technology Centre under the agency, said that despite negative impacts of COVID-19 in 2020, Viet Nam still saw strong growth in e-commerce activities and became one of the fastest growing e-commerce markets in the Southeast Asian region.

The Viet Nam E-commerce White Book clarified that last year, the local e-commerce market expanded 18 per cent to US$11.8 billion, making Viet Nam the only Southeast Asian country to enjoy two-digit growth in the field.

Notably, the global revenue from e-commerce activities between businesses and consumers is predicted to hit $2.88 trillion in 2023, noted Hoang, stressing that trans-border e-commerce will be a tool for businesses to expand markets.

In the operation stages on the e-commerce platform, banks are considered one of the important partners, partly deciding the ability of enterprises to integrate into the world and helping prove their financial capacity. VPBank, as the exclusive unit providing financial solutions for businesses participating in the Viet Nam National Pavilion on the JD.com e-commerce platform, will quickly provide a series of preferential policies to support Vietnamese businesses.

Accordingly, firms would open a digital account with no fees in the first year, and it is free to receive foreign currency from abroad. They would also be provided with short-term capital support by international credit cards with a limit of up to VND2 billion, free interest rates for period up to 45 days and no annual fee. In addition, loans to supplement working capital with a discount of up to 2 per cent of interest rates, applicable to both unsecured loans or mortgages would also be offered.

VPBank expected that the co-operation would create an additional distribution channel for local exporters, promote goods trade, and bring high-quality Vietnamese products to the international market most conveniently and effectively. — VNS