E-commerce helps businesses go global, HCM City workshop hears

Nguyễn Nguyên Phương, deputy director of the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade, speaks at the “Cross-border e-commerce: Global expansion opportunities for Vietnamese businesses” workshop on December 21 in HCM City. — VNS Photo

HCM CITY — Cross-border e-commerce is booming in many countries and helps companies expand to other markets, a workshop heard in HCM City late last week.

Speaking at “Cross-border e-commerce: Global expansion opportunities for Vietnamese businesses,” Nguyễn Nguyên Phương, deputy director of the city Department of Industry and Trade, said while many businesses have faced difficulties amid the current hard times, some still achieved growth thanks to their innovations and utilisation of e-commerce channels to promote sales of their products in the domestic and overseas market.

Phạm Trang Đài, senior account manager at Amazon Global Selling Vietnam, said e-commerce has grown steadily and rapidly in the country.

With an annual growth rate of 20 per cent, Việt Nam is in fact among the five fastest growing e-commerce markets in the world, she said.

Many Vietnamese companies are ready for online exports to take their products to the world, she said. 

Vietnamese selling partners on Amazon achieved solid results during the 12-month period ending August 31, 2023, selling 17 million products to Amazon customers worldwide, she said. 

Their value was up 50 per cent, and with thousands of Vietnamese enterprises seizing global expansion opportunities, the number of sellers rose by an impressive 40 per cent, she said.

The bestsellers were houseware, kitchen utensils, health and personal care products, apparel, and beauty items, she said.

Prominent Vietnamese firms such as Minh Long, Sunhouse, Lafooco, Thiệp 3D, and Equo have successfully exported their products via Amazon, she added.

Emphasizing its commitment to supporting Việt Nam’s online export growth, Amazon Global Selling Vietnam outlined strategic priorities for 2024.

They include enhancing cross-border e-commerce readiness, accelerating local supply chain integration and elevating Vietnamese selling partner competencies and successes.

Phương highlighted the untapped potential of e-commerce, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises and local manufacturing establishments.

The workshop took place as part of the 2023 Supply-Demand Connection conference at the Phú Thọ Gymnasium in District 11 from December 21 to 24.

In addition to this workshop, the department also collaborated with Tiki and Alibaba to organise two others, “Solutions to increase sales and business opportunities on Tiki e-commerce platform” and “Promoting the export of Vietnamese products through the e-commerce platform Alibaba.com” on December 22.

Delegates expected these workshops to help firms understand market trends, encourage investment in e-commerce platforms and boost product promotion, brand awareness and customer outreach. — VNS