Policymakers, businesses, and experts gathered at a workshop in October to discuss increasing opportunities to boost exports via cross-border e-commerce platforms.

The event held by the Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), the Hanoi Centre for Investment, Trade, and Tourism Promotion, and the Hanoi Association of Small and Medium Enterprises is among a series of activities to support businesses to increase their competitiveness, develop e-commerce, and expand their distribution network into e-commerce.

The workshop attracted the participation of many domestic and international businesses in the fields of e-commerce, logistics, financial institutions, brand promotion, and digital marketing such as Alibaba, Google, Clever Group, OSB, VPBank, and BIDV, among others.

At the event, participants shared experience and discussed e-commerce trends, digital transformation, and the development of corporate brands on digital platforms.

Bui Huy Hoang from the Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency said that there is much room for Vietnamese products to enter foreign markets, especially as new-generation free trade agreements become a new driving force for Vietnam’s economy in the new development period.

“Therefore, opportunities will open for businesses which have good products and meet demands of import markets, and tap into markets with developed e-commerce platforms, enabling them to enter the strict markets. There are different cross-border e-commerce platforms for businesses to choose to meet their business demands such as Amazon, Shopee International, and others,” Hoang said.

Vu The Tung, director of Business Development and Government Relations at Alibaba Vietnam said, “Alibaba continues to offer specific services for the Vietnamese market to help local businesses to accelerate their operation and bring opportunities for them to introduce their products to buyers globally.”

To help improve digital transformation capacity for Vietnamese businesses who are seeking for business opportunities, Alibaba has been carrying out training activities to improve e-commerce operation capacity for businesses.

To support businesses in e-commerce, many credit institutions have been developing modern payment products. According to a representative of VPBank, the bank is now deploying many solutions to support small and medium-sized enterprises.

At the event, the VPBank representative also introduced a modern payment solution to support businesses in their operation, business innovation, and e-commerce integration.

Specifically, the solution is to set up a standard website or online store with a built-in payment gateway, allowing businesses to sell online on the website. This is accompanied by free domain name server services and support for businesses to register websites with the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Similarly, BIDV is partnering with businesses in digital transformation. Pham Minh Chau from BIDV said that the bank also has comprehensive financial solutions to support exporters.

"With competitive collateral policy, and preferential interest rate policy, export firms get support to ease financial pressures in their business activities," Chau said.

According to the Vietnam E-commerce White Paper in 2022 of the Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency, over the past seven years, e-commerce in Vietnam kept growth rate at 16-30 per cent. It is estimated that the local retail e-commerce market will reach $16.4 billion in 2022, growing 20 per cent.

Source: VIR