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The scale of the digital economy will reach over US$200 billion by 2025 (Photo: Bstyle)

In terms of regional importance, Vietnam and other member states must strive to achieve closer co-ordination to promote economic digitalization faster, especially amid the Covid-19 pandemic, reported by VOV.

Nguyen Ky Minh, director of the e-commerce center in the department of e-commerce and digital economy under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, affirmed that opportunities are open to the entire ASEAN economic community to enjoy the great potential that exists for digital economic development.

“It is forecast that the scale of the digital economy will reach over US$200 billion by 2025, focusing on services, including ride-hailing, such as Grab, online media with about US$19.5 billion, and online travel and e-commerce with roughly US$88.1 billion. Clearly, Southeast Asia has a chance, but it is important to utilise this in the face of growing interest from the Asia and Pacific region,” Minh notes.

E-commerce in import and export activities is a great revolution for international business (Photo: Epomi)

From 2018 to 2019, this sector enjoyed a growth rate of around 30%, culminating in Southeast Asia boasting a mobile economy due to the increasing number of smart device users. This has led to a diverse range of attractive online shopping options, while startups in the virtual marketplace have witnessed a strong increase in both quantity and income.

According to Vu Tien Loc, VCCI President, e-commerce in import and export activities is a great revolution for international business.

Since the advent of the Internet and e-commerce, micro, small and medium-sized businesses have had a business opportunity to reach out to the world market and are becoming equal owners in global businesses, according to CafeF.

According to Le Hai Binh, chairman of Axys Group and vice chairman of Vietnam e-commerce association: “COVID-19 has shown that businesses with digital conversion do exist and those who fail to adapt, will be eliminated. Digitalisation has been applied in all areas of life, so e-commerce digitalisation is a priority and prerequisite area for development that all businesses must follow.”

Vietnam's digital economy and e-commerce enjoyed a sharp growth rate of 25% (Photo: Web designing XYZ)

Due to these factors Vietnam has been spearheading efforts among ASEAN member states to implement a range of multilateral and bilateral cooperation schemes to capitalize on the benefits and unlock the potential of the region's digital industry. It can be considered that the most important task is to take advantage of the e-commerce agreement signed by the Ministers in 2018 within the framework of the 33rd ASEAN summit.

At the virtual special meeting of ASEAN Economic Ministers on Covid-19 response held in April, ministers affirmed their determination to collaborate to facilitate e-commerce development.

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh stressed that in Hanoi's Action Plan and the statement of ASEAN + 3 ministers, bloc members and partners agreed to carry out strong measures targeting at developing e-commerce, expanding e-commerce infrastructure, and other multi-border e-commerce transactions.

The commitment to promote faster and stronger e-commerce is also a favorable opportunity to enjoy greater economic development within ASEAN, he added.

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