Screenshot of Temu's website showing an announcement, which warns viewers that its e-commerce services registration is being reviewed by Việt Nam's trade authorities. — VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The e-commerce platform Temu, originating from China, has suspended its operations in Việt Nam as per requests from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The ministry’s Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy said on Thursday it had asked Temu’s owner – Elementary Innovation Pte Ltd – to perform a number of measures to comply with Việt Nam’s regulations for e-commerce.

The requests were made based on trade regulations that are specified in the Governmment’s Decree 52 from 2013 and Decree 85 from 2021.

As per the requests, the Chinese platform has stopped showing content in Vietnamese on the website temu.com and on the Temu mobile application.

It has also informed viewers that its business registration application is being reviewed and has not yet been approved by the trade authorities.

A line on the website reads: “Temu is working with the Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to register its provision of e-commerce services in Vietnam.”

The platform has also stopped showing to Vietnamese viewers products and goods with promotions of over 50 per cent, in accordance with the provisions of the Decree 81, issued by the Government in 2018 on commercial law and trade promotion activities.

It has stopped programmes and models that encourage Vietnamese users to participate in business to receive bonuses and commissions.

Previously, the trade ministry had warned Vietnamese users to stop transacting with cross-border e-commerce platforms that had not registered with the authorities to protect their rights and benefits.

The ministry advised those who had paid for, but not received, orders on the Vietnamese version of Temu to cancel the transactions and ask for a refund. — VNS