Masan Group Corporation and a consortium, including Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group and Baring Private Equity Asia, on May 18 announced the signing of definitive agreements 

Digital transformation offers great opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to participate in global supply chains and take advantage of innovative solutions and technologies.

Alibaba.com, the global business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce platform of Alibaba Group, has launched a landmark initiative to help businesses in Vietnam go online and reach an enormous pool of qualified global buyers.

The E-commerce Index Report shows that Vietnam has over 500,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs), but only 32 percent of businesses have joined global trade through digital channels.

With an annual growth rate of 30 percent, Vietnam’s e-commerce market is expected to have value of $15 billion by 2020.

Many local SMEs have seen exports surge after teaming up with global e-commerce platforms.

Ant will not control more than 50% of eMonkey, but is expected to have significant influence and provide technical expertise to the e-wallet

To dominate the cross-border e-commerce market, Amazon has set up a representative company in Vietnam, while Alibaba has organized a series of workshops.

A workshop organized in HCM City, attracting representatives of 200 SMEs, in late September was held to help Vietnamese SMEs boost exports through transnational e-commerce, as well as help Vietnamese enterprises connect with Singaporean ones.

Alibaba’s plans to enter Vietnam are ringing alarm bells across e-commerce, but unless the Chinese giant can come out with something new to surprise competition, it could not set a firm niche in Vietnam just like Amazon. 

Giants Amazon and Alibaba both have ambitious plans for the Vietnamese market.

Police in Ho Chi Minh City on September 18 arrested chairman and director of Alibaba real estate company for fraud.

There are still many obstacles in the Vietnamese market in particular and Southeast Asia in general. That is why the world’s biggest retailer isn't directly selling goods without intermediaries in the region, analysts say.

Both online sale channels serve as effective tools for Vietnam’s businesses to sell their products to the world market.

Shopee and Lazada have begun collecting fees from sellers, while Tiki has exempted fees for two years.

VietNamNet Bridge - Amazon and Alibaba’s presence in Vietnam could create a heated battle for customers. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Businesses can now see great opportunities to sell products internationally via online retailers such as Amazon.com or Alibaba.com.

VietNamNet Bridge - Consumer confidence in e-commerce in Vietnam is lower than the average level globally, which explains the high percentage of cash payments and big losses of e-commerce firms.

VietNamNet Bridge - Since the beginning of the year, Amazon and Alibaba, the two largest e-commerce players from the US and China, have been busy seeking supply sources in Vietnam.