VietNamNet Bridge – HCMC took the lead in the Vietnam e-Business Index (EBI) 2015 with 73.3 points in a report of the Vietnam e-Commerce Association (VECOM) announced last week though other cities performed better than the southern economic center in certain areas.

Hanoi came second with 72 points, followed by Danang with 62.2 points, Binh Duong with 55 points and Haiphong with 54.4 points.

VECOM compiled the index results based on information technology infrastructure and human resources, and transactions between businesses and customers (B2C), businesses and businesses (B2B) and government agencies and businesses (G2B).

Hanoi surpassed HCMC in terms of IT infrastructure and manpower but was behind for G2B, B2C and B2B. HCMC ranked after Danang when it came to G2B.

VECOM said the gap between the average point of the five localities at the bottom of the index and those at the top was 30.5 points, well above 20.3 points in 2014 and 18 points in 2013.

EBI reports in the 2013-2015 period showed that big cities led the list in terms of IT infrastructure, human resources and e-commerce transactions. Regarding G2B, Danang, Binh Duong and Haiphong were not far below HCMC and Hanoi but the gap was big in other criteria.

The reports showed that businesses invested more in apps for e-commerce on websites and mobile phones. To better serve customers, 26% of websites launched mobile platforms last year, above 15% in 2014.

Notably, 28% of firms joining last year’s survey said they used social media to promote business, up 4% from a year earlier. VECOM said social media has become an important tool for many enterprises to sell products and services.

Nguyen Thanh Hung, vice chairman and general secretary of VECOM, said the EBI 2015 indicated that the number of e-commerce transactions grew sharply against 2014 and transactions were diversified.  However, e-commerce businesses have yet to work out effective solutions to win consumer confidence.

VECOM said manpower for the e-commerce sector has yet to meet demand and payment methods have to catch up the development of this sector. The association noted that the State will play a bigger role in the growth of the sector in the coming time.

The EBI 2015 was based on a survey among 5,000 enterprises across the country, up nearly 50% compared to 2014.

SGT