Despite rumors that Amazon will enter Vietnam as a competitor of China’s Alibaba, the representative of the US e-commerce giant expressed no such intention when he attended Vietnam Online Business Forum today in Hanoi.  

Amazon welcomes Vietnamese traders, yet comes to Vietnam

The manager of Amazon’s Global Selling Singapore, Gijae Seong, said they have now three markets in Asia together with five markets in Europe and three others in America. The three current markets of Amazon so far are Japan, India, and Singapore.

Seong refused to answer any questions about a possible expansion in Vietnam as a retailer, but he was eager to welcome local traders to operate on the Amazon platform and export their products to the world.

With an introduction on Youtube, Seong took Mary Nguyen as an example. Nguyen started trading her tailored clothes and accessories with the trademark Marycrafts on Amazon in 2015 and posted a growth rate of 150 per cent so far. Based in Singapore, Nguyen has now four workshops with 80 workers in Vietnam.

Seong told the event participants that other traders in Vietnam could enjoy similar success when operating on the platform, adding that they can either learn how to trade online on Amazon or join a training session at the local Vietnam E-commerce Association (VECOM).

According to Nguyen Ngoc Dung, vice head of VECOM, they cooperate with the giant retailer to train small and medium-sized Vietnamese enterprises to reach foreign markets through Amazon’s platform. They offer different training courses on capacity building and legal knowledge regarding trading on foreign markets.

Dung said VECOM will work as a connection and a sharing hub between successful Vietnamese sellers and newcomers to the platform.

He said this will definitely help potential small exporters and traders who still face difficulties in exporting, especially to potential markets like the US and Europe.

Dung said the first course is expected to begin this April and will be free of charge. Candidates who wish to join should deposit VND2 million and get their money back after finishing the course.

According to data, earlier this year, Amazon’s market value surpassed Microsoft for the first time. The US e-commerce giant’s market capitalisation reached $702.46 billion in February, ranking as the third most valuable company in the world behind Apple and Alphabet, the company that owns Google.

VIR