HCM City (VNA) – E-commerce is growing rapidlyand thus posing challenges to State management agencies, as heard at aconference held in Ho Chi Minh City on September 14 reviewing the five-yearimplementation of the government’s Decree No.52/2013/ND-CP on e-commerce.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Departmentof E-Commerce and Digital Economy, Vietnam’s online retail sector has grown byover 20 percent annually over the last five years, surging to 6.2 billion USDlast year from 2.2 billion USD in 2013. Revenue from e-commerce now accountsfor nearly 3.6 percent of the country’s total retail and consumption.

As scheduled, by 2020 Vietnam’s e-commerce market will be worth10 billion USD. The country is also forecast to boast the fastest-growinge-commerce market in Southeast Asia.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung saidVietnam now counts over 50 million Internet subscribers, making up 54 percentof the total population. E-commerce activities are not only seen on websitesbut also on digital platforms.

Le Thi Ha, head of the department’s policy office, expressedconcern over the control of goods quality as a number of merchants sell fake,counterfeit and sub-standard goods, causing economic loss and hurtingconsumers’ trust.

Moreover, it is hard to contact merchants without branchesor representative offices in Vietnam when problems arise, she said.

The department suggested supplementing several framing regulationson e-commerce under the Commercial Law 2015, putting together a new decree inplace of Decree No.52/2013/ND-CP, and completing a decree on dealing withadministrative violations in the field.

E-commerce firms suggested adding sales via social media andsupply of trans-border services into Decree No.52/2013/ND-CP to create fairnessfor business sectors, and issuing a code of conduct to settle arising disputes toensure the legitimate rights of both sellers and buyers.-VNA