Improving legal framework for e-commerce critical to drive digital economy development

Participants at the online conference on e-commerce development held by the Government's e-portal on Wednesday. — Photo baochinhphu.vn

E-commerce is developing rapidly in Việt Nam after the pandemic and becoming a major pillar in the digital economy, Trần Minh Tuấn, Director of the Department of Digital Economy and Digital Society under the Ministry of Information and Communications said on Wednesday morning.

He cited statistics that e-commerce contributed 15-17 per cent to the digital economy’s value as of the end of 2023. Việt Nam has set a target that the digital economy will account for 20 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025 and 30 per cent by 2030 from the current 12-14 per cent.

With more than 14 million offline stores and 9,000 marketplaces, going online has become a big trend, he said, adding that e-commerce revenue is expected to account for 10 per cent of the total retail revenue by 2025 – the goal is within reach.

Lại Việt Anh, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s e-Commerce and Digital Economy Department, said that with a growth rate of 25 per cent in 2023, Việt Nam was among the top ten countries in terms of e-commerce expansion.

The potential remains huge, she said, adding that the current e-commerce revenue accounts for around eight per cent of the total retail sales.

E-commerce can be a sector that can help narrow down the digital gap between major cities and remote areas, she stressed.

The official said the development of e-commerce must be associated with the development of value chains as well as in line with the regional development planning and the distribution system planning.

The most important factor is to determine advantages of each locality in terms of products and logistics and enhance their linkage to optimise the efficiency of the supply chains, she stressed.

Another focus is working with e-commerce platforms to promote the consumption of Vietnamese goods, especially agricultural products during peak harvest seasons.

In the long term, efforts are being made to develop brands for Vietnamese goods online.

It is also necessary to have planning and promote the development of the logistics network to reduce costs, Việt Anh said.

Economist Võ Trí Thành said that the potential of e-commerce is undeniable, but there are two problems to be paid attention to in policy making to ensure its on-trade development.

The first problem is the narrowing down of the traditional retail sector in the rapid expansion of e-commerce, he said, adding that policies must be inclusive.

The second problem relates to handling disputes and protecting legitimate rights of consumers.

It is necessary to improve the legal framework for e-commerce and digital economy to create breakthrough developments, including regulations on electronic transactions, competition, intellectual property rights, asset ownership rights and consumers’ right protection, Thành said.

In addition, promoting innovations and new business models coupled with accelerating logistics and digital infrastructure development are important, he said.

ASEAN is also making an effort to promote the development of digital economy and digital trade, thus, there are bigger problems to be considered such as data transfer, cross-border dispute resolution and ensuring fair competition, Thành added.

Managing director of e-commerce platform Shopee in Việt Nam Trần Tuấn Anh said that Việt Nam, being strong in local production and with high internet penetration, has a huge potential for an e-commerce boom.

The Government should adopt policies to support enterprises and individuals to create products and new models for e-commerce business, he said.

Customer experiences and compliance are vital for e-commerce businesses like Shopee, Tuấn Anh said. He expects that the Government will have instructions for resolving disputes in specific cases.

Accelerating cross-border trade

According to Lại Việt Anh, cross-border e-commerce accounts for 20-22 per cent of the global e-commerce value, with a growth rate more than doubling that of e-commerce.

Việt Nam is an exporter of many products such as garments, footwear, rice and farm produce.

Cross-border e-commerce was estimated at US$3.3 billion in 2022 in Việt Nam and is expected to reach $11 billion by 2027.

How to optimise Việt Nam’s e-commerce is a long-term plan, she said, adding that the focus in the next five years will be promoting the exports of Made-in-Vietnam products via e-commerce, especially providing support to small and medium – sized enterprises to sell in the global market.

Attention must be paid to sustainable development in e-commerce and cross-border trade development because this is an unavoidable trend in the world - together with requirements of origin traceability, deforestation regulations, environmental protection and waste reduction and Vietnamese goods must export sustainably, she stressed.

It is also necessary to have mechanisms to enhance the data sharing among State management agencies and e-commerce platforms to develop a sustainable and healthy e-commerce market, she said.

Agreeing with Việt Anh, Tuấn said cross-border e-commerce is a big trend and the Government should consider cross-border e-commerce a big opportunity to export made-in-Vietnam products.

Regarding the development of products for exports, the senior economist Thành said that production must ensure quality and economy of scale, consumption trend and the ways of developing Vietnamese brands.

According to Tuấn Anh, Shopee expected to help 1,000 enterprises to sell their products abroad and the number is expected to increase to 100,000 soon.

To do that, three things are important including production scale, consumer trends and branding, he said.

Tuấn Anh also urged the Government to have policies to promote the development of domestic enterprises.