HCM CITY — With the rapid growth of e-commerce and the appearance of many new models, the Government needs to review existing regulations and amend them suitably to meet evolving requirements, a seminar heard in HCM City on Friday.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quốc Hưng said e-commerce had grown strongly in Việt Nam, especially in the last five years, and the legal framework and mechanisms and policies for the industry had played a positive role in creating an environment for it to develop.

Lê Thị Hà of the Việt Nam e-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency said the rapid development of digital technologies and internet platforms had given rise to new e-commerce models including across borders, the presence of a large number of players on a single platform and complex business models like that of Airbnb.

These models had gone beyond traditional e-commerce and would require the authorities to create new management mechanisms to ensure both businesses and consumers benefit, she said.

She urged the Government to issue a decree on dealing with violations related to e-commerce.

Nguyễn Thanh Hưng, chairman of the Việt Nam e-Commerce Association, said regulations should focus on protecting consumers’ personal data, resolving disputes in e-commerce and regulating trans-border e-commerce.

Business executives attending the meeting suggested that the Government should amend regulations on registering promotions on e-commerce platforms.

Lê Anh Huy, deputy general director of Sen Đỏ Technology JS Company, said "When conducting a promotion programme on a national scale, e-commerce platforms have to register the programme in all 63 provinces and cities.

"This results in obvious difficulties especially when businesses have many promotions in succession."

With over 70 per cent of e-commerce users opting for cash-on-delivery, returns were high, increasing costs, Huy and other executives said, urging the Government to encourage online payments to mitigate this problem.

Phạm Tấn Đạt, CEO of Fado Joint Stock Company, said relevant agencies should increase inspection of online trading platforms to crack down on counterfeit and smuggled goods and other violations

“Decree No.52 does not mention trans-border e-commerce, so the Government should soon have regulations in place [for this].”

Fast development

Hà said B2C e-commerce enjoyed growth of over 20 per cent a year in 2013-17 to reach US$6.2 billion last year and account for 3.6 per cent of the country’s retail sales.

The market is expected to sustain the 20 per cent growth rate to reach $10 billion by 2020, she said.

The number of online shoppers increased from 57 per cent to 67 per cent in 2013-17, with the rate of shopping on mobile platforms achieving the highest rise, she said. — VNS