The world’s leading e-commerce player, Amazon, is scoping out the Vietnamese market, hoping to benefit local consumers and enterprises. 

If Amazon’s plan is materialised, Vietnam would be its second Southeast Asian market, following Singapore. 

Vuong Manh Hoang, CEO of Digital Service Integration JSC, said that Amazon aims to help Vietnamese enterprises export their products to the US through the platform rather than promoting US products in Vietnam. 

He told a Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper reporter that Amazon would facilitate Vietnamese exports to the US, which he said, have met various barriers regarding procedures. 

Amazon will work with local units to churn out Amazon-branded products in Vietnam, he noted. 

Making up 42 percent of the US’s e-commerce market share, and with experience in automatic management, goods transportation, warehouse building, consumer assessment and barcode technology, Amazon is expected to help boost Vietnam’s e-commerce, Hoang added. 

He highlighted the popularity of online payments and better goods transportation infrastructure in Vietnam as favourable conditions for Amazon to launch services in the country, adding that there are many online shopping websites in Vietnam but their prestige is low. 

Tuan Ha, CEO of Vinalink, a digital marketing training and research centre, said Amazon’s presence in Vietnam may open up opportunities for Vietnamese to sell their products through the platform. 

He also noted the possibility that Amazon will seek partners in logistics or launch an online shopping site in Vietnamese. 

Vietnam is an attractive destination for e-commerce players since the country ranks 15th worldwide in the number of internet users, or 53 percent of its population. The number of smartphone users in the country also stands at nearly 50 million. 

According to the Vietnam E-commerce Association (VECOM), Vietnam’s e-commerce market grew by more than 25 percentin 2017  and the pace could be maintained during 2018-2020. 

Aware of Vietnam’s great potential in e-commerce, Chinese Alibaba Group increased its shares in Lazada, an online shopping site located in Southeast Asia, from 51 percent to 83 percent. 

During a meeting with leaders of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group Jack Ma expressed his hope for cooperation with a number of Vietnamese companies operating in Fintech Payment.

Alipay, Alibaba’s mobile and online payment platform, signed a strategic agreement with NAPAS, the first and unique intermediary payment service provider being granted license by the SBV of providing switching and electronic clearing and settlement services in Vietnam. 

Central Group also purchased Zalora, a leading online fashion shop in Southeast Asia. 

A representative from VECOM said the Vietnamese e-commerce market is forecast to see fierce competition to attract consumers and gain market share in the near future.-VNA